Last Glimpse of Daylight
by DarkAlliGator
Summary: Scott White was the first person to nearly escape Furnace. Nearly...
1. Chapter 1

_Hi. I noticed there was only one Furnace fanfiction, so I decided I HAD to do something! Anyway, in case you missed it, in Lockdown Donovan mentions a guy called Scott White who tried to escape and almost made it. Yeah, so this is his story! Enjoy._

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My name's Scott White. I'm not perfect, nobody is. But I don't deserve this. Surely, nobody, not even the worst human being in the world deserves this. I never killed anybody. They framed me, the guys with the black suits. They killed my best friend and framed me. I would never kill anyone. Could never kill anyone, let alone my friend. But the court didn't believe that. I still remember that one word bouncing around my head. _Guilty._ And that meant a life sentence in Furnace. Or, more accurately, a life sentence in hell. I couldn't take it, tried to escape. I nearly made it. That's one of the worst parts. I actually managed to see daylight for one last time, managed to see grass and trees and rain, managed to escape Furnace for that one glorious moment. And for that wonderful moment, I thought I was free. But it's all over now. I should have known there was no escape from this place. They found me, and dragged me back down here to die.

Help. Anyone. Please, just help me. Those dogs know I'm their next meal. The three huge guys in the black suits are barely holding them back, those evil, shark-like grins still on their faces. The fourth guy is dragging me by the arm, down to where I'm going to die. I tried to escape, and failed. This is my punishment. Death, in the most horrible way possible.

I'm terrified of those dogs. Always have been. In fact, they're one of the main reasons I wanted- no, needed to get out. The second I saw one of them I knew I couldn't stay here. I'd go crazy or die. I remember my escape plan. I almost made it. Nearly. But here, nearly isn't good enough. They found me, dragged me kicking and screaming back down here to die. I don't want to die... but now that I think about it, it's better than a lifetime in here. Better dead than going insane in the hole. But I'd hoped that if I did get caught they wouldn't set the dogs on me. They could kill me any way they wanted, but it had to be the dogs, didn't it? My worst fear. A small sob escapes my throat and the silver eyed guy holding me grins.

"Not long now!" he laughs. "Did you honestly think you could escape Furnace? You worm. Look, they all know what's gonna happen to you. Nobody's ever gonna to try to escape again after this display." I follow his finger, and realise that we're not alone. We're in gen pop. I can see the inmates looking out at me through the bars of their cells, terrified. Why are _they _scared? They're not the ones that are gonna get ripped to pieces.

I choke when I see one familiar face looking out at me. Jake, my old cell mate stares at me out through the bars. He's crying.

"I told you it wouldn't work," he sobs. The black suit stops.

"You were in on this guy's plan?" he asks Jake, shaking me roughly. "And you didn't think to tell us?" Jake shrinks back.

"No, he didn't!" I said. "I just kept talking about escape all the time. I never told him my plan. He told me there was no escape from Furnace. I didn't believe him." Anything, just let Jake stay safe. The blacksuit smiles another one of those terrible, shark-like grins.

"And look where that got you, huh?" One of the dogs lunges at me suddenly, tugging the blacksuit behind him forward a couple of metres. I leap back, terrified. The thought that this is going to be happening to me for real in just a few minutes is too horrible to even think of. The blacksuits laugh. And so do some of the other inmates in gen pop.

"Get him!" whoops Kevin, the leader of the Skulls. There are catcalls and jeers from his henchmen. They're loving this. They love seeing people scared, getting hurt, being killed. Anger rises up inside me.

"I hope something like this happens to you one day," I whisper. "I hope you get torn apart!" Kevin laughs, pressing his face to the bars.

"And maybe it will. But you won't be around to see it, will you?" He sprays my face with spit with each word. The blacksuits begin walking again, taking me with them. They had stopped to interrogate Jake and so that Kevin could taunt me. Now we continue on. My pulse is racing. I can feel each and every one of my heart beats thumping in my chest, and my breaths are shallow and fast. I can feel my legs begin to turn to jelly. Not that it matters. The blacksuit is dragging me along anyway.

Suddenly, we stop. My stomach turns somersaults. No... this can't be happening... how did it all go wrong? My plan was perfect, wasn't it? I can't remember how it all went wrong. As if sensing my thoughts, the four blacksuits smile as one.

"Here we are, little boy." The dogs growl and snap as if sensing that they're about to be fed. I suddenly find myself wondering how many other inmates have died like this, chewed apart by mutant dogs. Involuntarily, I look at their teeth and claws. Sharper than razors, they are stained with an ominous red colour. Slobber drips from their muscular jaws and they almost appear to be grinning at me. The way they look at me says one thing only. _Dinner._ I feel as if I'm about to throw up. Those animals are killers, alright. My last little shred of stupid hope, that maybe they wouldn't be as bad as the others, is destroyed instantly. I'm doomed.

The blacksuit beside me releases my shoulder and I almost collapse to my knees. I don't want to die! Not like this! Couldn't they have just shot me and got it over and done with? I should have remembered, that's what Furnace does. Takes your worst nightmares and turns them to reality. I look pleadingly at the blacksuit who had been holding me, searching his emotionless silver eyes for the slightest trace of pity. Needless to say, there is none.

"Better get running, weakling!" He hisses.

I take a few steps backwards and break into an unsteady run. My legs are wobbly, like they haven't been used for years. There's no way I can escape the dogs like this. Not that I could escape them even if I could run properly. Maybe I should just lie down and die. Running will surely only make it worse. Then, I look over my shoulder and see a sight that changes my mind instantly. The blacksuits release the dog's leashes, and the skinless killers howl in delight before chasing after their prey.

Me.


	2. Chapter 2

I know now is not the best time to remember stuff, but they say your life flashes before your eyes when you're about to die. Well, it's happening now so I guess it's true. The strange (and sad) thing is that I can't remember any of my time before Furnace. It's almost as if I never existed. All I can remember is arriving at Furnace, my first month or so of torture, my escape plan. And my failure. I can remember what happened now...

...

About 1 month earlier

"I didn't do it." That's all I said. That's the only thing I _could _say, really. Even though we're in a lift that is taking us down to the bottom of the Earth, to Furnace, that's all I could think of to say. Imaginative, huh? The others in the lift look at me, smirking. OK, _I_ might not have killed anyone but they look like they definitely have. Black eyes, broken noses, missing teeth... that sort of thing. They're the sort of people who deserve to be in here, not me.

"I know you didn't. You wouldn't have the guts to hurt anyone, would you?" The guy who just spoke appeared to be the leader. Ugly as hell. He walked up to me, poking his finger into my chest.

"You belong to us now, understand?"

"I understand what you mean, but I don't agree with it." I regretted the words as soon as I spoke them. As fast as lightning, the guy punched me. Right in the face. I staggered back, surprised and instinctively clamped my hand to my cheek. It didn't hurt that much, but the shock more than anything made me say "Ow." The others laughed.

"Pussy," the boy spat. "I was going easy on you then." OK, I've got to do something. If I just let them get away with this, they'll tag me as a victim and go after me every day of my life. I've seen it happen to people before. But there are too many of them. Five against one. I'll never win this fight, but at least if I fight back it will show them that I'm not going to let them walk all over me.

I mentally prepare myself for a beating, and punch the ugly guy in the stomach. He doubles over and I feel a ridiculous flash of pride. I think I winded him. Taking the advantage, I grab his shoulder and shove him into the wall. His friends aren't impressed, however. Almost before I can blink, one grabs my hand and wrenches it off the leader. He pins me against the wall by my throat. I do my best to kick him somewhere painful, but there's not enough room. The others are advancing now, determined to get revenge for what I did to their leader. Speaking of him, he's straightening up now, an evil glint in his eyes. The other four hesitate. I take the chance and push as hard as I can to break free from the thug's grasp. He ignores me totally. I'm not sure if he can even feel me struggling. He's too focussed on his leader.

"Kevin?" He asks. This must be the leader's name, as he grins at me. It's not a nice grin. Apart from the fact that several of his teeth are missing, it's a grin that says "you're dead meat_". _

"OK guys," he says. "He's all yours." Then he sits back to watch me get beaten to a pulp. Not that I'm going to let that happen easily, but...

I struggle as hard as I can, grasping the arm of the guy that's pinning me to the wall. He just pushes harder against my throat, and I choke. Hopefully he won't strangle me. Unfortunately, that looks like what he's going to do. Guess I'll have to stop him somehow. I twist my head round and bite his wrist, gradually increasing the pressure. He swears.

"Get off, you freak!" Just as I'm digging my teeth in hard, starting to enjoy it, a fist slams into the side of my head, causing pain to shoot through my brain. I lose my grip on his wrist and stare dazedly at the guy who just punched me. Damn. Forgot about them. The guy who I bit throws me on the floor, where several kicks from the others greet me. I try to get up, but somebody slams my head back down with their foot. It hurts so badly even to move, but I have to get up. If I stay down here, I have no chance of even doing anything. Or, then again, maybe I do...

I reach out and grab the nearest pair of ankles I can find. Then I tug. The effect is instantaneous. The guy falls to the floor with a girly shriek. Bet that was embarrassing. He knocks two of the others backwards as well, creating an opening. This is my chance. Ignoring the pain of the kicks from the others, I crawl as fast as I can away from them. My whole body aches like hell, but somehow I manage to stand up and face them wearily. They're all around me in a circle now. I don't know how, but somehow I manage to raise my fists in defiance. It probably doesn't help that they're shaking like hell. I notice that the guy I pulled over was Kevin. Apparently he had decided to join in kicking me. That only makes things worse. I've embarrassed him twice in front of his gang. Two of them start forwards, but Kevin stops them with a wave of his hand.

"Leave him to me." He walks up to me, the others gathering behind me in case I try to run away or fight back. Kevin is grinning. He knows he's got me; there's no way I can fight now, and just in case I do he's got his minions ready.

"Run out of energy?" He asks. I stay silent. When he beats me up, I'm not going to give him the satisfaction of crying out. I know that will probably make him angrier and encourage him more, but there's no way I'm letting him tag me as a weakling. No way. He grins again. Still not pretty. I ponder about whether or not to tell him how ugly he is, but decide that I'm in enough shit already. I'll save that one for later. That is, assuming he doesn't kill me. I watch him warily, ready to dodge when he lunges at me. Or try to dodge at least.

"You know one good thing about going to Furnace?" He asks. I ignore him. If I was him, I'd attack when the victim wouldn't be expecting it. Sure, he might not be clever enough to process that complicated reasoning, but I can't be too careful. I have to keep alert for his attack.

"Thing is, we're down here for life. So that means that they can't exactly lengthen our sentence. So, here comes the good part." OK, this is it. He's going to try and be cool, and tell me what the "good part" is, then attack. I'll be ready. Not that I can do much, but it might make me feel better to knock some more of his teeth out.

"The good part is, that means that even if we kill somebody our punishment can't get any worse. So even if we kill you now, there won't be any effect on us. We won't get punished." That thought had crossed my mind already. I had just been hoping that they were too dim-witted to think of that. Oh dear.

"So, we may as well kill you." My bruised muscles tense, and he leaps at me. I'm ready for him, and even though I thought I wouldn't be able to do much, I still manage a pretty impressive kick. The unimpressive thing is that it missed. Just my luck. I would have looked so cool if that had hit him, but it had to miss, didn't it? Not that these thugs would appreciate my awesomeness. They'd be too busy trying to beat me to a pulp. Hmm, maybe I should have let them label me as a victim after all.

My petty thoughts about looking cool vanish as soon as he grabs my head and smashes it against the wall. That. Hurts. So. Much. I twist round and punch him in the stomach, but he ignores me. Or maybe my head is spinning so much I missed. To be honest, I don't know what's going on. That smash has messed up my head. I can't tell who it is that kicks me in the stomach, or shoves my head into the wall again. Maybe it's Kevin, or maybe the others have decided to join in. That's probably not good, not being able to tell what's going on. Lights pop in my head as I lash out blindly, trying at least to make an impression. Dull laughter rings in my ears. They're actually going to kill me. The thought has only just sunk in. Before, I don't know, I thought they were just gonna "show me who's boss" and leave me be. But like they said, their sentence can't get any longer so why not kill anyone who makes a fool of you? I was an idiot to start this fight. I sink to the floor slowly. Maybe if I pretend to be dead they'll leave me alone. Maybe I don't even need to pretend. Somebody walks up to me and digs a finger into my ribs. I'm in so much pain anyway, I don't react. Odd words reach my baffled brain.

"Is... dead?"

"Looks like..."

Then, I hear a noise that I recognise. The lift doors are opening. I open my eyes a fraction to see two blacksuits enter. They turn to someone I can't see properly the second they see me lying on the floor bleeding.

"What... do?"

"... gave him... deserved it..." At this point my brain and body can't take anymore, and I sink thankfully into unconsciousness.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you Raimundoroks, Spaice and Tsarina Torment for reviewing! I just wanted a few more people to read before I put more chapters up, but I think I've got enough now _

_... _

I wake up in a bed. Quite a comfortable bed, really. Maybe it was all a dream. I know it wasn't (my body still hurts like hell) but I'm reluctant to open my eyes and chase that last bit of hope away. Maybe Callum never died, and I didn't get beaten up and nearly killed by a gang of psychos on the trip to Furnace, the centre of the Earth. Maybe I never got arrested at all. I bathe in this fantasy for a few minutes, hoping to fall back to sleep and dream about it but then I hear voices.

"Has he woken up yet?" It's the rough tone of one of those guys. The huge ones, with the silver eyes. They were the ones who framed me. Why do they always dress in black suits?

"Not yet. Send a wheezer in to try and wake him up. If that doesn't work, I guess we'll just have to try surgery." Surgery? What are they talking about? I don't need surgery.

"It's a shame. He hasn't been here long enough. Otherwise he might have been a good specimen. He probably won't survive surgery yet." Specimen? What's going on?

"Oh well. We've got plenty more!" Laughter. Then I hear them leaving. I am about to open my eyes and sit up, but then I hear a sound that chills me to the bone. Wheezing breaths. I recognise them. Those creatures that were with the blacksuits that made them stab Callum. They didn't even speak, just pointed. If it was possible, they scared me even more than the blacksuits. So what are they going to do to me now? I lie perfectly still. It worked with the gang. I know it probably won't work with the wheezers, but it's worth a try. I hear the wheezing breaths come closer. _I'm asleep. Go away. _

It doesn't work. The breaths come closer. What are they going to do? I get my answer as pain shoots through my body, making me jerk backwards and gasp. My eyes open involuntarily and I see the wheezer standing next to me holding a cattle prod. It looks at me, pleased, and lets out a single, loud screech. What, so they use cattle prods to wake you up now? I thought I hated my alarm clock, but this is something else. I look around. I'm in some kind of hospital, with white curtains spreading in every direction so I can't see anyone else. I'm glad of that. Judging by what happened to me I'd imagine that not many of the people who come down here are in a pretty condition.

I hear another scream and shiver. That one didn't sound like a wheezer. It sounded distinctly human. But that must be my imagination. Suddenly, the curtains opposite me open and a blacksuit comes striding in.

"Recovered from our little misdemeanour, have we?" I nod, not sure what else to do. I mean, I'm not recovered, my body aches and I wish I was still unconscious but these guys are not to be argued with.

"Good. You'll need all your strength for the hole." I recover my voice somehow.

"The hole?" I croak like a frog. But at least he can make out what I'm saying. He grins, reminding me of Kevin. They both have that same, predatory look about them.

"Solitary confinement. Fighting, on your first day in Furnace! And you hadn't even arrived yet! Unacceptable." He shakes his head sarcastically.

"Solitary confinement? But... it wasn't my fault! They attacked me! I had to defend myself!" Good start. First I get beaten up, and now I'm being put in solitary confinement. I wonder how bad it will be, and what other horrors Furnace has in store for me.

"Are you arguing with me?" His voice has turned dangerous. I shake my head, remembering what happened the last time I argued with someone bigger than me.

"I'm not arguing, but I'm just saying, they attacked me. Was I just supposed to let them kill me?" Oh, damn you smart mouth. He looks really angry now.

"Listen you. You argue like that normally and you get the dogs set on you. Understand? Since you've only just woken up, I'll be lenient and give you another chance. But if you argue like that again, I'll add another day to your stay in solitary." I nearly point out that he had promised me two different punishments if I argue again, but then realise that that would count as arguing. And tempting as it was to point out his stupidity, I didn't particularly want to experience _either _of those punishments. So I nod dumbly.

"How long will I be in solitary for?" It's probably not a good idea to ask more questions, but I need to know.

"Two days. I wanted to give you three, but you're new to this place. Now shut up and get yourself out of bed." Wearily, I remove myself from my warm, cosy bed and allow myself to be escorted to "the hole".

"Is that it?" I can't see anything. Just a floor. My escort grins.

"Go look over there." Suspiciously, I walk towards where he's pointing and see a metal trapdoor set into the floor. My stomach turns backflips. It's just a hole in the ground. In total darkness.

"Welcome to your home for the next two days," he grins. I stare, gobsmacked at him. "Don't worry, the other guys are getting this too. Only they're getting three days so they'll have a nice grudge against you when they get out." Great. So now they'll hate me even more.

"I..." He scowls at me.

"Shut up and get in the hole." I can't move. I just stand there. I'm not scared of the dark, but I hear people can go mad if they're kept in total blackness for too long. I hope "too long" is more than two days. The blacksuit sighs.

"Fine, we'll do this the hard way." He whistles, and then I see the scariest sight I've ever seen. A massive, skinless dog lopes up to his side. It's _huge. _And worst of all, its teeth and claws are huge too. Maybe I'd better get in the hole after all.

"Go get him, boy!" The blacksuit grins, and the dog howls in delight before bounding towards me. That's enough for me. I try to open the trapdoor as fast as I can, all the while staring panicked at the dog. Please don't let it catch me, please don't let it catch me... but surely the blacksuits wouldn't let it catch me? I mean, the gang got punished for almost killing me. But then again, so did I... The damn trapdoor won't open! The blacksuit is laughing at me, at my terror. How can anyone laugh at this?

Finally, the trapdoor opens and I leap inside. The dog is nearly on me. I reach my arm up to slam the door shut but before I manage it, the creatures jaws fasten on my wrist. I gasp. Its teeth are even more painful than I'd imagined they would be. Beads of blood run down my arm as I cry out in pain.

"Let go!" I sob, smacking the dog again and again on the nose. It shakes its head around, tearing the skin and sending bolts of agony up my arm. Then, all of a sudden, I hear a whistle. The creature releases my arm and runs back to its blacksuit master. I stare up through the trapdoor, clutching my bleeding arm. He walks up to the trapdoor and sighs.

"I warned you. Here." He produces a bandage and hurls it into the hole next to me. I'm still shaking from the shock of what just happened. That was even worse than the gang. He sneers again.

"That's what happens here at Furnace if you disobey. We can do whatever the hell we want to you. Nobody cares about you anymore. You're lucky I decided to call it off. There have been occasions before when I just left them to get eaten." He starts to shut the trapdoor.

"Sweet dreams!" I watch the last glimmer of light disappear as he shuts the trapdoor. Then I'm left on my own in the complete darkness, with only my sobbing breaths for company.


	4. Chapter 4

_Well, it's been AGES since I posted the last chapter up. Mainly because I never really go on fanfiction anymore. Anyway, I thought I'd at least try and finish both of my unfinished stories before quitting for good, starting with this one, so hopefully I'll finish :)_

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I think I lost it for a little while then. It wasn't the stabbing pain in my arm, it wasn't even the utter silence, cramped conditions and pitch black of the hole. It was the fact that it had finally sunk in. THIS was my new home. I would never see daylight or anyone I cared for ever again. Every day I would have to deal with this hell; the sadistic Blacksuits, the bloodthirsty gangs, the spine-chilling wheezers and worst of all, the dogs. I could tell even now that they were the things I would fear the most in this prison. I don't know what it was about them, but the mere thought of them made me shake in horror and curl into a little ball. Maybe it was the fact that even on the surface, I wasn't the biggest fan of dogs. I've always been scared of them since I was small. Or maybe it was more that these dogs looked like they'd stepped straight out of a horror movie, with their skin torn off and those glistening fangs. Those dead black eyes looking at me and seeing nothing but their next meal.

I screamed out loud and slammed my good fist into the trapdoor above me. Again and again I punched the trapdoor until eventually I sunk to the floor, whimpering and cradling my hand. I might have even broken my knuckle, but that was the last of my worries at that point. The walls of the hole felt like they were closing in on me. It felt like I was in a coffin. I let out a rasping laugh. Maybe I _was_ in a coffin. Maybe I'd die in the hole and they'd leave me in here and this would be my coffin. Maybe that wouldn't be so bad. Then another thought came to me. Maybe I'd die in here and they'd pull me out and feed my body to the dogs. That made the idea of dying here a lot less attractive. I screamed again, and continued screaming until my throat was burning.

Then I stopped. This wasn't doing me any good. I made up my mind that I was _not _going to die here. Not in the hole, not in Furnace at all. I was going to get out of this hell. Because, let's face it, I don't deserve to be here. I'm not religious, but I know enough about religion to know that only bad people go to hell. I'm not a bad person. I've done bad things, everyone has. But getting in a few fights at school doesn't mean I deserve to be here, right? I had to stick up for myself or I would've ended up being the one beaten.

But then again, maybe it's my fault Callum died. I carried a knife, just in case. Everyone did. That's the only reason I had one; it was a bad neighbourhood and if someone attacked me with a knife, I had to be prepared. I never would have used it, I don't have it in me to stab anyone. It was just there for security, so people wouldn't mess with me. But if I hadn't carried that knife, it wouldn't have been taken from me by the Blacksuits. If the Blacksuits hadn't taken my knife, they couldn't have used it to stab Callum. If Callum hadn't been stabbed, he wouldn't have died. If Callum hadn't died, I wouldn't have been blamed for his murder and dragged down here to die in hell. So maybe it _is _my fault after all...

When I came to my senses, I realised I was screaming again. I let the scream die, wondering how long I'd been screaming for and what had happened whilst I was screaming. Probably nothing, but not being able to remember a large chunk of what's just happened is extremely unnerving. Maybe I'm going crazy. A small part of me hopes I am. It'd be easier to cope if I was crazy, surely? And that way, I wouldn't care if I died and was fed to those dogs, and it wouldn't matter to me that I was responsible for Callum's death...

Once again, I come to my senses after god knows how long. This time I'm not screaming, but shivering in a ball on the floor and giggling quietly. These lapses in lucidity are scaring me. No matter what I was thinking earlier, I don't _actually _want to go insane. Or die. The thought of those dogs eating me, whether I was alive or not, scares me like nothing else I could ever imagine. I can feel the insanity coming back just thinking about it. With effort, I focus. Escape. That has to be the only option. I can't live here or I'll go insane. And I can't die, otherwise... I shudder, pushing the thought away. I guess if things get too bad I could injure myself bad enough to get sent to the Infirmary again. But even that option's not great. The wheezers terrify me and I don't like the idea of being woken up with a cattle prod every day. Plus what I overheard gives me the chills just thinking about it. _Surgery. _Sure I was injured pretty bad, but nothing that required cutting me open. I was fine after just a few hours! So why mention surgery? I decide not to ponder on this, as my imagination begins to run wild and show me a few things "surgery" could consist of. I shudder whilst firmly telling myself that changing children into monsters is impossible and only happens in stories.

Anyway, back to the planning. Escape. How am I going to do it? It's not going to be easy, that's for sure. And there's a very real chance I might get caught. If I get caught... they will kill me. Definitely. I know this for a fact. The Blacksuit I talked to has already pretty much told me that people have died down here and nobody cares, as well as hinting that he himself was responsible for a few of those deaths. If I get thrown in solitary confinement and bitten by a dog just for the crime of being beaten up, how are they going to treat someone who deliberately plots and attempts escape? One thing's for sure: I don't want to find out. It might be a quick and easy death(which I doubt), or it might... it might even involve torture. I begin hyperventilating. The room spun around me, which is extremely disorientating when you can't even see the room to begin with. I sink to my knees and rest my head on the wall, gasping for air. They wouldn't torture people... would they? Not even this place would go so far... would they? I begin to shake and tears run down my face as I accept that the answer to both questions is probably... _yes_.

I wake up slowly, head lying on the cold rough ground. What happened? I must have panicked and passed out. Or maybe I hit my head on the wall. Again I wonder, _how long was I out for?_ It could have been a minute. It could have been a day. There's no way of telling. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll be let out soon. I'm not sure how much longer I can spend in here when every negative thought spirals out of proportion into the most sinister ideas my mind can create, and much more than it can deal with. No wonder I'm going crazy. The dark and silence is making my own mind torture itself. I shiver. I've only been in Furnace for less than 3 days, and already it's shown how ruthlessly efficient it is at breaking people.

I snap out of my mental monologue as I realise how hungry and thirsty I am. I run my hands over the wall. It's moist. I suppose that's how we're supposed to get water, so I give in and begin licking the wall. But what about food? Are they just going to let us starve? It might sound strange, but I hope they are. Because say they give us one meal a day. That would mean that I've been in here for less than half a day, assuming it was morning when I was put in. I begin shaking again at this horrible realisation, feeling my dark thoughts beginning to overwhelm me again. I back away from the wall as if it were dangerous, and back straight into the opposite wall. Pure claustrophobia overwhelms me and I lash out at the wall. Pain travels down my arm but I don't care, I just need to get out, it feels like I've been buried alive, I'll never see daylight again, someone help, I can't do this, I can't escape, I'll get caught and tortured and killed, I CAN'T DO THIS...

The trapdoor opens.


	5. Chapter 5

Slowly, I stand up, wincing at the seemingly blinding light coming through the open trapdoor. I poke my head out of it and look around.

"AAH!" I scream and drop back down to my knees as a dog lunges at me, teeth snapping. I hear laughter and anger rises up inside me. They think it's funny doing this to people.

"So how was your stay?" Asked a Blacksuit sweetly, grasping the dog's leash and pulling it away from me. "Did you have fun?" I ignore him, shivering. He smiles and gives the dog a little more slack on the leash. It edges closer towards me.

"_I said_, did you have fun?"

"No," I mutter. His grin widens.

"Excellent. Well unfortunately your stay is over now. You can come out." I remain where I am, shivering. It seems my muscles have locked up at the thought of taking even one step closer to that dog.

"Didn't you hear me? I said you can come out now. Unless you'd rather stay in there..." Momentarily, I consider it. At least in there I'd be safe from the gangs and the dogs. It's only when the Blacksuit shrugs and moves to close the trapdoor that I gather up my courage and haul myself out of the hole. The dog growls as I get close to it and I give it a nervous glance, which, unfortunately, the Blacksuit spots.

"A fan of dogs, are you?"

"I prefer them when they have fur," I answer honestly. The Blacksuit lets out a booming laugh.

"Too bad. You're never gonna see any of those types of dog again."

_That's what you think, _I think to myself. Now that I'm out of the hole, I can start planning my escape. I'll look around, pay attention to everything, and find any weaknesses I can use against this place. Then I'll plan everything to the last detail, and when the time's right, I'm gonna get out of this hellhole.

"Anyway, it's time to show you your new home," the Blacksuit says. "Follow me."

I follow the Blacksuit along innumerable rocky, twisting passages, heart sinking all the while. At the moment, it looks like the only way I'm gonna get out is with large amounts of TNT. I knew Furnace was deep underground, but surely there must be some way to get to the surface? Well for a start, there was the lift but that was probably under heavy surveillance 24/7, and I had no way of getting in there without being noticed. At least, not yet. Snapping me out of my thoughts, the Blacksuit spoke.

"We're here now. Welcome to gen pop." I look up and am amazed at the sight. We're in a massive, circular room with several levels, all filled with people. Set into the walls are hundreds and hundreds of cells, some of them also containing people. All kids like me. I look around, shocked at the number of people here. Are there really so many teenage criminals that deserve to be sent here for the rest of their lives? Of course, loads of kids got caught up in gang crime and ended up killing during the Summer of Slaughter. Many of those people will be down here and I shudder as I consider sharing a cell with a killer. But I can't help wondering if there are people like me down here. People who were framed by the Blacksuits. I can't be the only one, right?

The Blacksuit leads me up a couple of stories and raps on a cell door. The door slides open and he gestures for me to enter.

"This is your cell. If the siren goes off, you either have to get in here, or the circle down there." He gestures and I see a large yellow circle painted on the floor. "If there's one long blast on the siren you get in here straight away or the we'll let the dogs have you. Understand?" I nod. "Good. Now no more trouble, or you'll go back in the hole." He shuts the door and leaves me alone in the cell.

At least, I thought I was alone until I turned round. A slightly younger boy was standing in the corner of the cell looking at me. He looks terrified.

"Hi," I say. He doesn't look like a threat. But then again he doesn't look like much use if I want him to help me against the Skulls. At least he isn't a gang member.

"...Hi," he replies quietly.

"I'm Scott," I say, offering my hand. He flinches away from me. "What's your name?"

"J-Jake," he says. I wonder why he's so nervous.

"What's up?" I ask. "I don't bite." He looks at me, and cautiously takes my hand and shakes it gently.

"Nice to meet you," he says, then turns away and climbs to the top of the bunk bed in the cell.

"Uh, I sleep up here, that is, unless you'd prefer to go on the top bunk? I don't mind, really." He says quickly.

"No, bottom bunk is fine thanks," I reply, getting into my bed. The mattress feels like a block of wood. "So, you're my cellmate?"

"Y-yeah."

"How long've you been here?" I ask, trying to start up a proper conversation with this boy.

"Um, I don't know. You uh... you kinda lose track of time a little. I mean, there's no day or night really..."

"Oh, I see. What's it like?" I can see him beginning to relax a little. Maybe he thought I was a gang member. With my smashed up face I can hardly blame him. I haven't seen a mirror anywhere, but I doubt the sight is pretty.

"It's... not nice. I mean, if you follow the rules and stuff it's not too bad, but... the food is awful and the beds are hard and the gangs will take advantage of you if they can."

"Oh yeah, I know all about those gangs," I said, rubbing my face. "I got put in with a bunch of them on the way down here. They beat me up pretty bad."

"Oh really? That's bad to hear... what happened? If you don't mind me asking of course..."

"They started pushing me around, I stood up to them and attacked one of them, then they beat the shit out of me."

"Really?"

"Yep. Then _I _got put in solitary for two days for fighting."

"I heard about that. But wow, that doesn't seem fair..."

"Well they got 3 days. They're still in there."

"Aren't... aren't they gonna be annoyed at you when they get out? I hope they don't come after you..." My stomach churned as I realised that's probably exactly what would happen.

"I hope not, but if so... I'll have to deal with it when it happens." We're silent for a while. Then I decide to ask him if he has any ideas about escape. After looking outside the cell to make sure there were no Blacksuits wandering about, I beckon Jake over.

"Can I trust you?" I ask. He looks confused, but nods.

"Um, sure."

"Seriously, you can't tell _anyone _what I'm about to say to you."

"I promise I won't say anything," he says.

"Well..." I lean in and whisper in his ear. "I don't know how... but I'm gonna escape this place." He turns to me, shocked, and immediately goes to look outside the cell.

"It's OK," I said. "Nobody's there." He comes back and stands next to me.

"Look Scott, we've all had that thought and... it's impossible. I'm sorry. You shouldn't even talk about it, if they catch you even mentioning that word they'll put you back in the hole... or worse."

"Well why are they so insistent on not even letting people say it?! There must be some flaw in the system if they're so paranoid about it!"

"Look, nobody's ever... escaped..." he said the last word very quietly, "and I doubt anyone ever will. It's impossible. We're stuck here under several kilometres of rock and the only way out is that lift, and you'd get shot for even looking at it in a suspicious way."

"But there must be some way out..."

"Trust me, there's not." Following this is another long silence.

After a while, the siren went off and people started returning to their cells.

"I guess this means it's time to sleep?" I asked Jake. He nodded.

"Um, by the way, Scott?"

"Yeah?" I asked.

"If you hear the siren go off in the night, and red lights go on... don't move. Just... just lay there and pretend to be asleep. When that happens, the wheezers come and they... take... anyone they see looking. They mark a cell and take one of the kids from it."

"What happens to the kids after that?" I ask, fascinated yet terrified.

"Nobody really knows... but they take the kid and never bring them back. At least... people don't think they do. But..." he leans in close. "There was this guy with a big tattoo who got taken. And a while afterwards the blood siren went off again... and his cellmate went missing. But he wasn't taken. Someone I know says... they say they let some sort of monster loose in his cell."

"Really? No offence but that sounds like bullshit."

"No! I've seen the bloodstains! And I know you probably won't believe this either but... my friend said he saw the monster. And it had the same tattoo as the guy who was taken..." I snap my head backwards. Sure, it's probably complete crap, but it's still kinda creepy.

"So please," Jake says as he climbs into his bed. "Whatever you do, don't get up during the blood watch."


	6. Chapter 6

I wake up the next day aching all over. As usual. I'm starting to get used to waking up in pain. The hard bed hasn't helped either, I know my back didn't ache _this _much yesterday. I'm surprised I managed to sleep, actually. I thought I wouldn't be able to because of all the thoughts swimming around in my head. Looks like I was so physically tired my body gave me no choice. I stretch and climb out of bed, almost walking straight into the cell wall. I forgot how small these cells are.

"Jake? You up yet?" I ask quietly. No response. Guess I'll just let him sleep. I walk to the cell doors, wondering what time it is. Looks like it's early, nobody's up yet and all the lights are off. I sit down in front of the door and begin to think. I can already tell today isn't going to go well. Today is the day they let Kevin and his cronies out of the hole. Perhaps I can avoid them? I know that won't work forever, but then again I don't plan to stay here forever. If I can just manage to stay out of trouble for however long it takes to escape, I'll be alright.

I sigh bitterly. Yeah. Like that's gonna work. Kevin is obviously a high-ranking member of the gang and I'll bet that he's gonna have no trouble convincing the others down here to get me. And from what I saw yesterday, there are a lot of Skulls down here. Nope, however you look at it I've screwed up badly. I just hope I can get out of here before that little mistake gets me killed. I swear softly under my breath at my own stupidity. If I'd have just stayed quiet and let them do whatever then I'd have plenty of time to plan my escape. But no, like an idiot I made myself a target and now there's a price on my head, so to speak. It's now a race against time; can I escape before the gangs kill me? I'm the sort of person who doesn't enjoy working under pressure, I like to check things about a million times before going through with them. I won't be able to this time. Once the plan is clear in my mind, I'll go through with it. I'll have to. And if there's one little flaw, one tiny thing I've overlooked, then I'll be killed. I need to begin planning _now._ Right this second.

I get to my feet and look round the cell. Just a hole carved in the rock. Somehow I doubt there are any weaknesses in the walls or ceiling, and even if there are I'll be just as likely to bring the whole room down on us as escape if I start trying to work with them. Next, I examine the door. Steel bars allow hands to be stuck through them, but prevent anyone getting in or out. The lock is just a simple bolt which seems to be controlled electronically. I look from side to side, checking nobody's watching before sticking my hand outside the cell and attempting to pull the bolt back. Nope. It's held firmly in place. Not that I was expecting anything, but it was worth a try. However, looking at the door I think that maybe if I found something to jam in it before it locks, it might not be able to close properly? I make a mental note to try this when the doors are next locked. If this works, I could jam the lock before I go to bed and walk around in the middle of the night. The obvious problems with that are that I'll probably be seen, and that I have nowhere to go. But I'll sort those problems out later. It's a start. I've already found one potential flaw with the prison, and where there's one there's sure to be more. I walk back over to the bars. OK, so I've tried prying the lock open with my hands and that didn't work. Maybe a bit of leverage would help? Perhaps if I stole some cutlery I might be able to force the lock open. Or maybe a piece of rock. I drop to my knees and begin looking around on the cell floor. As I'm crawling around on the floor, a massive blast from the siren makes me leap to my feet, nerves buzzing. Shit. Did they see me?

Jake sits bolt upright, looking wildly around before relaxing back into a sitting position.

"That stupid siren makes me jump every time," he says sleepily. I don't answer, still quivering with nerves. Jake looks at me oddly. "What's up? You look scared. Were you already awake?"

"Yeah, I woke up early," I say, still quaking. "So... that siren goes off every morning?"

"Yeah, wish they'd find some other way to wake us up." He yawns, and begins to climb out of bed.

"You say that, but when I was in the infirmary they woke me up with a cattle prod."

"What? Come on Scott... I'm not that gullible! They wouldn't use _cattle prods!_ That's... a bit extreme. Anyway, are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm fine," I said, deciding to let the cattle prod issue drop. "Siren just made me jump, that's all. Wasn't expecting it."

"Sorry, I... I should've warned you yesterday."

"That's OK." I hear a loud click and the cell door slid open.

"So, um, what were you doing while you were up?" I look at Jake sharply. I trust him not to blab about my escape, but at the same time I know he doesn't think it's a good idea.

"Just... thinking."

"Uh Scott, you... you know I was awake when you started fiddling with the lock?" Ah. I remain silent. "Scott, I know you want to escape. But um, like I said, it's impossible. There's no way out. I'm... I'm sorry."

"Well in that case I'll be dead within a month," I snap. "They're letting Kevin and his thugs out of the Hole today, and they won't want to let me get away with what I did. I know _you _think there's no way out, and maybe you're right, but I'd rather die trying to escape than stay here and let _them _kill me. You don't want to escape? Fine. You just stay here for the rest of your life, I don't give a damn. I'm not forcing you to help or anything. All I want you to do is just leave me to it." Jake backs away a little.

"I'm not trying to stop you! I'm just saying, um, it's not a good idea..."

"Well don't." I say bluntly. "Don't take away my only hope."

I follow the crowd of people into yet another large, rocky room. This one has benches and tables, so I'm assuming it's a canteen. At least, I hope so. I'm starving. Jake and I hadn't spoken all the way down here, and I had somehow managed to get separated from him on the way. I don't care, but I know being alone whilst Kevin is out there looking for me really isn't a good thing. Jake wouldn't be much help in a fight, I know that, but he could at least help me look out and maybe hide from Kevin. I follow the crowd of kids towards a large trough, with other kids pouring ladles of... stuff... into plastic trays and handing them to people. I narrow my eyes. Surely this can't be food? It looks like vomit. The crowd is getting rowdy now, with people pushing to get to the front. I almost fall into a group of people as I'm shoved aside by a massive guy. Normally I would yell at him for this, but I've learnt my lesson now. Just accept it. With a little bit of pushing, I reach the front and am handed a tray of the slop. I make my way back to the benches as fast as I can, trying to get out of the crowd. There are whoops behind me and I turn around just in time to see a tray of slop soaring through the air and landing on some guy's head. The guy turns around and storms to where the tray came from. He doesn't look happy. I turn my back and walk away as fast as I can. No way I want to get involved. I have enough to deal with already.

I spot Jake sitting at a table talking with another inmate. I hesitate for a second, then go to sit next to him.

"Hi Jake."

"Hi Scott." Jake doesn't look at me. Maybe he's annoyed because I snapped at him earlier.

"This your new cellmate, Jake?" Someone asks.

"Yeah," Jake says. "This is Scott."

"Hi," I say. The guy Jake was talking to nods at me.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Adam." I nod and look uneasily at the slop. It looks _disgusting._

"What even _is _this stuff?!" I say out loud.

"It's all sorts of stuff all mashed up," said Adam. "You'll get to see for yourself when you're on kitchen duty."

"Kitchen duty?" I ask, screwing up my face and taking a mouthful of the stuff. It's not as bad as it looks, but it's still not the nicest thing I've ever eaten. I wolf it down anyway. After not eating for three days, I'd eat anything.

"They make us do jobs every day. Kitchen duty's alright actually, unless you're one of the ones handing out food. That can get kinda dangerous sometimes." Jake replies. I look at him, surprised he's talking to me now.

"What other jobs are there?" I ask.

"There's laundry, chipping, or if you're really unlucky you might have to clean the toilets!"

"Sounds fantastic," I mutter. Adam shrugged.

"You get used to it."

After we'd finished eating, the siren went off again and we made our way towards the lift. Excitement swelled inside me as I realised this was gonna be my first opportunity to get a good look at it. As we gathered around, I quickly peeked at it. The first things I saw were two machine guns protruding from the wall. I shiver, plans to somehow hijack the lift seeming a lot less likely now. Obviously someone, somewhere, was watching with their finger on the trigger. The elevator doors themselves looked impenetrable and there was no control switch, obviously. I frowned, and quickly stopped looking at the lift as the Blacksuit standing next to it began staring at me menacingly. I transferred my gaze to the giant screen above the lift, searching for my name. I spotted it under "slopwork", which Jake whispered to me meant I was working in the kitchen. Jake was doing laundry, but Adam was also doing kitchen work so I followed him and another guy to the kitchen.


	7. Chapter 7

The next few days passed by without much happening. I (somehow) managed to avoid Kevin or any of his gang, and hung out with Jake and Adam when I had the time. I began to relax a little, forget about the threat of the gang finding me. I even stopped constantly looking around me for potential escape routes. I still wanted to escape, obviously, but glancing around me every couple of seconds isn't going to help, I told myself. I had plenty of time to devise and perfect my escape plan. Deep down I knew it wouldn't last, that Kevin would find me eventually and there'd be hell to pay. But I was ever hopeful. Maybe they'd forgotten what I looked like. Maybe the prison was so large they simply couldn't find me. Whatever the case, I let my guard down. And of course, that's when the trouble began.

It started in the canteen. I stood in the jostling crowd, trying to get to the front for my helping of slop. Slowly but surely, I reached the front of the queue and a server handed me a tray of slop. I pulled it back towards me and turned to walk off. At least, I tried. However, the server didn't release the tray. I stared at him.

"Hey, what giv..." Then I realised. It was one of the guys from the lift. He glares at me.

"You're dead, punk. Oy, Kevin! Over here!" I turn around and to my horror see Kevin turn and his face creasing with anger and recognition.  
"You!" He snarls. Panicking, I release the tray, leaving the server holding it. Then as an afterthought, I smack the bottom of the tray upwards, smashing it and its sticky contents into the Skull's face. He howls in pain and rage. Thinking quickly, I dig my hands into the trough and hurl handfuls of slop at random into the crowd. Chaos ensued as people hit by the sticky gunk turned on others, blaming them for their faceful of slop. Which was exactly what I was hoping for. The crowd's usual jostling became more and more forceful, with people being shoved to the floor and punches being thrown. I quickly run deeper into the crowd, hoping to lose Kevin somewhere along the way. From what I can tell, I think it's working. I duck, narrowly avoiding a plastic tray which was hurled at my head. There's no time to check if it was thrown by Kevin, or just someone joining in the massive brawl which is developing. I reach the edge of the crowd and run to Adam and Jake.

"Guys," I pant. "We need to get out of here. Right now!"

"What? Because they're all fighting over there? Don't be stupid, just stay out of it and you'll be fine." said Adam.

"No, you don't understand... the Skulls... they're after me and..." Then the siren goes off. One long blast. Everyone in the whole room freezes for a split second as they realise what that means. Lockdown.

Then, the pandemonium starts. People begin rushing to the door, knocking smaller kids over and trampling them in order to get out of there first. I run along with the stampede, utterly terrified. From what I've heard, lockdowns are when things get really serious. From the reactions of everybody else, I'd say what I've heard isn't an exaggeration. I slow down slightly, checking Jake and Adam are alright. They're fine, running at full speed with terror in their faces. I speed up again once I see a group of Blacksuits entering the room, bringing two of those horrific skinless dogs with them. The dogs are straining at their leashes, obviously eager to be released and slaughter anyone who's not fast enough to escape. With a sense of relief, I reach my cell and leap into it. I look round to see that Jake's still running.

"Come on!" I mutter. "Come on Jake!" The Blacksuits release the dogs. They bound forwards with a sick kind of joy, racing towards the stragglers. Jake speeds up and reaches the cell. The second he's fully in, I slide the door shut, sighing in relief as I hear the familiar "click" of the lock. I rest my head on the bars, panting, then back away hastily as a dog races past. Nervously, I peek out of the bars to check if anyone's still out there. Luckily, it looks like everyone made it back to their cells. I shudder as I consider what would happen to anyone who didn't make it back in time.

"You alright?" I pant at Jake. He nods, too out of breath to speak. I sit on the floor and breathe deeply, calming myself down. That had been way too close. If the lockdown hadn't happened when it did, Kevin might have managed to find me in the crowd. Sure, a lockdown would've happened eventually, but probably only after he'd beaten me to a pulp. I'm just glad that he didn't see what cell I'm in. If that happens, it'll make it a lot more difficult for me to avoid them. Plus, Jake might get involved and I'd feel awful if that happened. I need to get back on track with my escape plan right away. I got lucky today, but it probably won't happen next time.

"What happened back there?" Jake asks.

"One of the guys who beat me up in the elevator was serving food and recognised me," I reply. "He called Kevin and they almost caught me."

"So... was it you who started that fight then?"

"Yeah. I smashed the guy who recognised me in the face with a tray, then chucked slop at people. It worked, I managed to lose Kevin in the crowd."

"Did you make sure there were no Blacksuits around?" Ah.

"Um... I don't remember there being any..."

"I... I hope they didn't see you if there were any. It's ok though!" He adds, seeing my concern. "People don't always get put in solitary for fighting. It depends what kind of mood the Warden's in really. Even if you did get seen, you might be alright."

"So you mean the punishment is completely random?"

"Not completely, but it's difficult to guess. Um... they might be slightly more harsh on you because you've already been caught fighting. But then again, they turn a blind eye to most of the fights that go on here. I think you only got punished because it was your first day here and they wanted to make an impression on you. They... can be pretty sadistic." I nod, knowing exactly how true this was.

"So who exactly is the Warden? You keep mentioning him."

"Oh, I forgot! You haven't met him yet. You're... you're lucky." Jake looks away. "He might talk to everyone once this lockdown is finished. Hopefully not though, when he talks to us after a lockdown it's usually to give group punishment to everyone. Anyway, he runs the prison and tells the Blacksuits what to do and stuff. He's... terrifying. There's something about him, nobody can look him in the eyes properly. I don't know why, but it's creepy." _I'm sure he can't be worse than the dogs, _I think, but don't say it out loud. I don't want to tempt fate.

"So what happens now?" I ask. "Do we just stay here for the rest of the day?"

"No, they'll let us out soon and then we can do whatever. It's almost the end of the day anyway. We can go back and get the food we missed out on if you want?"

"No thanks. I think I'll steer clear of the canteen for now." I watch as a Blacksuit walks past our cell, dragging one of the dogs with him.

It's straining at the leash, obviously reluctant to give up the hunt. As it passes our cell, it lunges at the bars, slamming into them . The Blacksuit swears and tugs at the leash, pulling the dog along. We watch as another Blacksuit passes along with the other, much more obedient dog. However even this one stops and gives us a long, hard look through the bars. I stare back into its soulless, jet black eyes. Every single thing about these dogs is horrific, designed to terrify and kill. A low growl emanates from its raw, gaping mouth and it lets out a sharp, short bark.

"Hey, I think he likes the look of you," grins the Blacksuit. I ignore him, letting out a long breath as he continues past. Jake looks at me.

"Those dogs, I swear they can tell when you're afraid of them," he says. "The more scared you are, the more likely they are to go after you." I nod, turning away from the bars.

"How am I not surprised?" I sigh. "Jake, can you see now? Why I need to do it. I can't spend any longer here."

"I understand, Scott. I'll do what I can to help, but... I really don't want to get caught up in this. I'm sorry."

"I know. I'm not asking you to do anything, just let me get on with what I need to do. If the Blacksuits catch me, I'll tell them you knew nothing about this. I'll make sure you don't get punished."

"Thanks Scott." He looks relieved. I know that now we've come to an understanding I should probably just shut up. But I can't keep all this caged up. I need to confide in _someone._

"It's just... I just need to get out of here."

"Scott..." Jake begins, but I ignore him.

"Living under constant threat of the dogs and the gangs... surely even if I die trying to get out, it's better than _this? _If I wasn't so sure I could escape, I might honestly consider suicide. And think about it, if I escape I'll get police down here. I'll get them to shut this place down. You might not be freed, but at least you won't be _here. _Nobody will have to stay in this place any longer." I say. Jake looks at me silently with wide eyes. He looks almost afraid.

"What's wrong?" I ask. He remains silent. With a sinking heart, I turn around.

"What's that you were saying about escaping?" Asked the Blacksuit standing at our cell door.


	8. Chapter 8

I barely have time to think before the Blacksuit opens our cell door and drags the pair of us out.

"Don't take Jake! He didn't do anything!" I say.

"I didn't hear him _say_ anything. That doesn't mean he didn't _do _anything. Both of you are going straight to the Warden. And I don't think he's going to be happy."

"But he's innocent!"

"Didn't you hear me? I don't care."

"Jake... I'm sorry." Jake doesn't reply. Either he's too scared to say a word, or he's angry with me. Whatever it is, it's completely understandable. I'd be pissed off at myself too, and as for being scared? It's taking all my willpower not to collapse into a shivering wreck. The Blacksuit pulls us along at a brisk pace, ignoring the inmates who stare out of their cells at us, some whooping and jeering, most just looking glad it isn't them in this mess. My heart practically stops as I recognise a face. It's one of the elevator guys. He stares grinning at us, enjoying my look of fear. How have I managed to avoid them for so long? The Blacksuit keeps walking, and I stumble before increasing my pace and catching up. After what seemed like forever the Blacksuit stops and knocks on a heavy wooden door. I make eye contact with Jake and we both shiver. Every nerve in my body is telling me to run, but I know that'd just make things a million times worse.

"Send them in," says a voice. The Blacksuit opens the door and pushes us roughly inside.

"So," says the Warden. I can feel Jake quivering beside me, and want to reassure him but I know I won't be any help. Partly because even though I'm not showing it, I'm just as afraid as he is. "You were plotting escape, were you?" How does he know what we're here for? The Blacksuit didn't say anything to him. I raise my eyes to look at him. And, just as quickly, drop them to look at the floor again. Bloody hell. Jake wasn't kidding when he said you couldn't look the Warden in the eyes. The millisecond my eyes made contact with his, it felt like I was falling into a bottomless pit. I even feel slightly dizzy from the experience.

"Well?" His voice is quiet, but utterly terrifying. I swallow, throat dry.

"We weren't plotting escape. I panicked and started ranting at Jake about how I wish I could get out of here. It wasn't a plan, just wishful thinking, and Jake wasn't involved." I know it's not exactly convincing, but it's the best I can come up with under this kind of pressure.

"Really. Why do I not quite believe you?" I remain silent.

"You see, all I know about this situation is that two inmates have been discussing escaping from Furnace. I don't know how serious they were being about it, I don't know who else may have heard them, I don't know how far you may have got with your plan."

"It wasn't a discussion, I was the only one talking. And like I said, there is no plan." The Warden raises a hand and I stop. Instantly.

"That isn't the point." That's not the point?! Then what _is?_ The confusion must have shown on my face as the Warden continues.

"I couldn't care less whether you think you can escape or not, because I know it is impossible. Furnace is impenetrable. Two kids are not going to bring down this prison, no matter how much they think they can. Try to escape, and you will be caught and suffer a painful death as consequence. It's as simple as that. The reason you are being punished is to retain discipline in this place. If I allowed you to go unpunished, others would begin to talk about escape. Some would eventually attempt it. Nothing that can't be dealt with, obviously. But why risk that happening when it's so much easier to deter this behaviour when it begins?" I begin to see where this is going and my stomach flips. He's going to make an example of us. I can feel his gaze burning a hole in my forehead, but I refuse to look up and see those eyes again. "Your cellmate may not have been a part of this discussion, but he will be punished alongside you nonetheless. Perhaps it will persuade him to try and stop you talking about such things when your punishment is over, or to report you if you continue." Jake lets out a small, quiet gasp. It sounds almost like a sob.

Jake, I am so sorry you got involved in this. To be honest, I wouldn't blame him if he _did _turn against me after this. How could I have been so selfish as to let others get involved, and brought down with me? I make a mental note. From now on, my escape plans are mine and mine alone. Nobody will be involved. If I am caught, I will be the only one to suffer for it. I glance at Jake, feeling more guilty than I ever have before. His eyes are fixed on the floor, and he seems to be gasping for breath.

"So now," the Warden says, "The only question is... what should be done about you?" Here it comes. I try to calm my nerves. Surely he won't kill us?

"I think four days in the Hole ought to do the trick." My stomach lurches, and for a minute everything blurs out of focus. _Four days. _Twice the amount of time I had been in there before. Two days was bad enough, but four? I don't know if I can survive that long in there. My breathing gets faster and shallower and my stomach churns wildly. Sweat begins beading on my forehead.

"No," I gasp. The Warden looks at me, a complete lack of pity in his face.

"Oh yes, you've already been in the hole, haven't you?" I say nothing, trembling and gasping for air. It feels as if I'm going to throw up. Just as I'm wondering how much more trouble I'd get in if I threw up on the Warden, Jake beats me to it. I stare at him, horrified, before looking to see the Warden's reaction. His facial expression doesn't change, but somehow I can feel the anger burning off him.

"And," he says quietly but dangerously, "You can clear that up before you go as well."

Although it's disgusting, I insist on cleaning up most of Jake's vomit for him. After the trouble I've just got him in, it's the least I can do. The second I'm done, the Warden calls in the Blacksuit standing outside. Obviously he's heard every little detail of our conversation, as he leads us out without a word and takes us straight to the Hole. I begin walking slower and slower as I get closer, hoping that somehow it'll improve the situation. It doesn't.

"Walk faster," the Blacksuit snaps. "Or I'll let the dogs chase you again." I immediately speed up. Is this the same Blacksuit that put me in the hole last time? Or have they been talking about me? I study the Blacksuit's face carefully, but there's no way of telling. They're all identical. Maybe they're all clones. Whatever they are, I doubt it's natural. Maybe they've had something done to them. I shiver as I remember something I've heard before. _"Surgery"... _We reach the trapdoors set in the ground. I stand there for a minute, wondering if I'll make it out with my sanity intact.

"Don't just stand there," the Blacksuit says. "Get in." I summon up all of my courage and open a trapdoor. Jake is watching me with wide, terrified eyes.

"You too," grunts the Blacksuit, poking Jake forwards. Jake walks to a trapdoor and opens it. He's visibly shaking. When he turns to look at me, he looks like he's about to cry.

"You first," he says. I take a long, deep breath, and once again climb into the Hole.


	9. Chapter 9

I don't know how long I've been down here for. All I know is that my sanity is trickling away, and not particularly slowly either. Since staying awake leads to my own mind torturing itself, I attempt to sleep. But even then I can't escape, as the nightmares begin. Dogs chasing me relentlessly, whilst I attempt to escape with that horrible nightmare running that feels as if you're wading through honey. Of course I don't escape, and they catch me and tear into me with those sharp fangs... I awake with a sharp pain in my head. Obviously I had jerked and smashed into the wall. I sit up and realise my hands are covered in gunk. Oh yes, I remember now. A while ago one of the Blacksuits had opened the hatch. My hopes had soared and I had leapt up ready to be released, squinting at the light but feeling elated. But they had just laughed and chucked down a tray of slop before slamming the trapdoor shut again.

At the time, some small part of my brain had told me that meant I had likely been in there for two days. But now, I have no idea how long ago that was. I lick the slop off my fingers, stomach growling for more. I curl up once again on the floor and stare at the invisible ceiling. I raise my hand in front of my face and squint, trying to see it. Nothing but darkness. I sigh, but decide I may as well try and make this period of lucidity last as long as possible. I search around the floor until I find a chunk of rock that I had managed to break off the wall some time ago. Idly, I chip away at the floor. It achieves nothing, but it keeps me occupied at least. And sometimes, just sometimes, I create a spark. The small flash of light reminds me that I'm still alive and I haven't gone insane yet. Plus, even though I'm not even making a dent in the floor, it kind of feels like I'm on my way to escape. Like I'm digging my way out of here. I know it's not true and it's stupid to even consider it, but it's better than nothing. Better than going insane.

My thoughts wander, and I find myself wondering how Jake is holding up. Will it be worse for him because he hasn't been in the hole and didn't know what to expect? Or better, because he hasn't had to go through this once already? However thinking about Jake only results in making me feel guilty. It's my fault he's down here, after all. He didn't do anything to deserve this. Actually, come to think of it, why _is _he in Furnace anyway? I can't imagine him committing a single crime. He was probably framed like me, I speculate, and make a mental note to ask him what happened. That's if he ever decides to talk to me again. I won't blame him if he doesn't. I've already got him into deep trouble. The blame is entirely mine, just as it was my fault about Callum...

My chipping at the floor becomes faster and more erratic as my downward spiral of thoughts begin. I'm fully aware of what's happening, but don't care enough to stop it. So I'm going insane. So what? Nothing matters really. Maybe I deserve this anyway. I've caused so much pain and grief to others... A sharp pain in my hand jolts me back into reality. I look down, even though I can't see anything. I move my hands and realise that as I was chipping at the floor, I had accidentally slammed the stone into my hand. I drop the stone and cradle my injured hand, which must be bleeding because it feels wet and sticky. As the rock hits the floor, it clangs against the metal grill I'm supposed to use as a toilet. I freeze, and slowly reach out for it. It's not there. I panic and spread my hands out on the floor looking for it. But it's no use. I've dropped it down the grill. I sit there for a minute, put my head in my hands, and begin to cry.

It was such a small thing, but it pushed me over the edge. That piece of rock was completely worthless. But it's just another thing on the list of things that have gone wrong for me. Now I'm stuck down here and I don't even have my small distraction from my misery.

I shut my eyes and breathe deeply. No. There's no point getting upset over something this small. I wipe my face, and feel the walls for another loose shard of rock. Until I find one, this can be my new distraction. I find a part that sticks out, wrap my hands around it, and tug hard. It doesn't budge. I keep tugging harder and harder, with still no results. My hands begin to get sore but I continue yanking at the rock. I feel it start to give and pull even harder. Eventually there's a loud crack and the rock snaps. I fall backwards, hit my head painfully on the side of my cell and landed on my bum. But I had done it. I had a new piece of rock to play with. After that physical exertion however, I was exhausted. I decided to reward myself with a nap. I place the stone carefully down next to me and curl up on the floor.

I awake later, as usual unaware about how long I've been asleep. I know I had nightmares while I was out, but fortunately I can't remember them. All that's left is a sense of dread. I reach out and grasp the rock that I pulled off the wall, then begin my work chipping it on the side of the cell, trying to make a precious spark. The rock is a slightly different shape from the one I had before, so it takes me a while to get the hang of it again. Eventually I get quite good at it and manage sparks about 1 in 10 tries. Each tiny flash was just enough to light up a corner of the cell. I could see, if only for a millisecond. I kept doing this for hours, maybe even days, until the trapdoor opened and the entire cell was flooded with light.

Thankfully, I climbed out of the cell. A few metres away from me, Jake was already out of his, standing there pale and shaking. He glanced at me, then quickly looked away when he realised I was looking at him. Pure guilt flooded me. But we were out. That was the important thing. I breathed a sigh of relief and almost smiled as the Blacksuit guided us back to our cell.


	10. Chapter 10

Jake completely ignored me for the next few days and even tried to avoid me. My attempts to talk to him were just met with grunts or not acknowledged at all. In the end I decided to apologise and leave him alone for as long as he needed. This seemed to improve things slightly, as he no longer avoided me. But he still wouldn't talk. I was worrying whether he'd ever talk to me again, when it happened.

It was the middle of the night. Jake was fast asleep, but obviously having nightmares since he was twitching and crying out. I was wide awake. It was just one of those nights where you had too much going round in your head to sleep. I was laying in bed, wondering if there was some way I could get into the lift without being caught when the siren went off.

To begin with, I was extremely confused. It was nowhere near morning yet. Why was the siren going off? Then the prison lit up with a blood red light, and with a flash of horror I remembered what Jake had said when I'd first arrived here, his story about the inmate who had been taken and transformed into a monster. And although I hadn't believed him then, and still didn't believe him now, I began shaking with fear.

"Scott," whispered Jake, barely audible. He'd obviously been woken by the siren. "Remember what I said before. Don't move, don't make a sound. Don't you _dare _bring that thing over here. I'll forgive you for the hole eventually, but this is _serious._"

"Believe me," I whispered, "I won't do a thing. I'm as scared as you." Then I lay dead still and closed my eyes. But then someone began screaming. Begging. I opened my eyes a crack, just in time to see someone being dragged past our cell.

It was Adam. I couldn't stop a sharp intake of breath which luckily, the wheezers did not seem to hear. My mind was flooded with emotions. I couldn't just leave him to get dragged off to whatever hell the wheezers had in store for him! But what could I do?! I couldn't even leave the cell unless someone came and unlocked it. I could bang on the bars and demand they take me instead. But then they'd probably take Adam anyway, and Jake too. And even if that wasn't a problem, I'm nowhere near brave enough for that sort of self-sacrifice. Much as I like to think I would be... I'm no hero. So instead of doing anything, I lay there, crying silently, and allowed my friend to be taken.

What felt like hours later, the siren stopped and the lights went off. A collective sigh of relief was heard. Apart from that, it was almost as if nothing had happened.

"Jake," I said, once I was sure we were not in danger any more.

"What?" He sounded irritable, as if he had been trying to get back to sleep.

"Did you see? They... they took..." I couldn't finish the sentence.

"I told you, Scott. That's what happens here. They come and they take people."

"But Jake..." I steeled myself up to deliver the bad news. "You didn't see who they took..." That got his attention.

"It wasn't... it wasn't someone we know, was it?" He asked fearfully. Unable to help myself, I let out a sob.

"It was Adam, Jake. They took Adam."

"No... they can't... are you sure?!" Jake gasped.

"I'm sure!" I sobbed. "It was Adam. He's... gone..."

"I don't believe it," whispered Jake. "They can't have taken him. It must have been someone else. Someone that looks like him."

"It's true! It was him..."

"We'll... we'll go to his cell tomorrow. Just to make sure. It can't have been him..." Jake said. I could see he still had a faint glimmer of hope that it had not been Adam. I hated to be the one to crush that hope. But I know what I saw.

"He won't be there, Jake..." Jake didn't reply. I heard him roll over, and then silence. He didn't want to believe me, that much was clear. _I _didn't want to believe me either. But it had happened, and I knew that when we went to his cell tomorrow, he wouldn't be there. I sighed, and tried to get to sleep even though I knew it was hopeless.

The next morning, Adam was not there at breakfast. Nor did we see him during our daily chores. At the end of the day, we ran to his cell, Jake hoping against hope, me with a heavy heart, knowing he would not be there. We reached his cell and stopped. Adam's cellmate was sitting on the bottom bunk, his head in his hands.

"He's not..." he began, then gave up and pointed at the wall. I gasped. There were several long scratches on the side of the cell. Scratches that had obviously been made by someone desperately grasping at the wall to avoid being dragged away. Jake turned without a word and began heading back to our cell. I saw the tears in his eyes. Silently, I followed him. There was nothing else I could do.


	11. Chapter 11

It took a long time before Jake and I got over the shock of Adam being taken. I hadn't even known him for long, but we'd made friends in the short time we'd known eachother. And there's a big difference between being told about some stranger being dragged off to face something horrible, and personally watching a friend face the same fate. I hadn't even fully believed Jake when he told me about the blood watch. I knew what happened was unlikely to turn out well for anyone involved, but I'd thought he'd just been exaggerating. Looking back, I feel stupid for doubting that something in Furnace could've been less awful than someone described it as.

I don't really remember what happened those next few days. I guess we just carried on like normal. Eating, doing our chores, going to bed. I think it went on for about a week. That's when I realised that I had given up, intentionally or not. I was no longer brainstorming about how to escape every minute I was awake, or looking around for cracks in the rock that could possibly be tunnels to freedom. I'd just stopped, and accepted my life at Furnace.

I sit bolt upright in my bed, smacking my head on the bunk above and waking Jake.

"Owww," I complain, cradling my head in my hands.

"What's up? Nightmares?" Asks Jake sleepily.

"Yeah," I lie. No point involving Jake in this again. "Sorry for waking you." I lay down and remain silent, pretending I'm going back to sleep. After a couple of minutes I hear Jake do the same above me. Although I want to stay up and plot escape, I'm exhausted from the hard labour I did today so I decide to go to sleep and begin again tomorrow.

The next morning, I wake before the siren. I get out of bed and stand by the cell bars, enjoying the faint breeze from the air vent on the roof of our cell. It was a nice relief from the dry heat of Furnace. I stand there for a few minutes then freeze as I have an idea. The prison has ventilation, I can see that. The fresh air must come from somewhere. From... the surface? I look up and grasp the air vent. Even as I tug at it I can tell that it's useless. Even if I get the grille off there's no way I'll fit in that hole, and even then I'm not strong enough to climb vertically upwards for however far that shaft goes. I sigh and sit on the cold hard floor. One more idea shot down. I remain sitting there until the siren goes off and Jake and I head off to get our breakfast.

Jake doesn't talk much at breakfast, but that's ok with me. I'm too busy surveying the canteen, looking for anything I could use to help me get out. Deep down I know that I've been in this canteen almost every day since I got here, and I'm not likely to see anything I haven't seen before. But I can't stop now. Just last night I was on the verge of giving up. I can't let that happen. I'm still desperately trying to think of what to do when someone grabs me and wrenches me off the bench.

I crash to the floor and roll over, trying to get a good look at who did it. Jake is standing and staring at someone behind me, looking horrified. I twist my head just in time to see and avoid a foot heading straight for my face. I don't even need to look to know who was responsible this time.

"Kevin," I spit, sounding a lot braver than I feel. I leap to my feet, preparing for a fight but before I can do anything my arms are grabbed and twisted behind my back. I struggle and thrash, but Kevin's friend is gripping me too tightly to get free.

Kevin smiles, showing off his missing teeth.

"We meet again," he sneered. "Shame about the lockdown last time. Cut our little reunion short. Not gonna happen this time though" He punches me hard in the face and I feel blood trickling out of my nose. I throw myself backwards, trying to knock someone over and cause a fight like before. It almost works. The guy holding me stumbles but doesn't fall. Instead he just twists my arms further, causing me to cry out in pain. Kevin punches me in the stomach, and I double up, gasping. Kevin looks around.

"Quick, let's go before someone sees us," He says, nodding towards the door. The guy holding me forces me to walk behind Kevin towards the door, and other members of the Skulls crowd around us to prevent the Blacksuits from noticing anything amiss. I stumble forwards, all thoughts of escape gone. All I was thinking was "how am I going to survive this?". As we pass a Blacksuit sitting on a bench, I take a chance and stamp hard on my captor's foot. He yells in pain and releases my arm just enough for me to break free of his grasp and make a break for it. I slam heavily into Kevin, my fist connecting with his face. He falls to the floor, not expecting it, and I dash past him. Unfortunately one of the quicker members of the gang has seen what I did and sticks his leg out. I trip over it and crash to the floor, scrambling to get to my feet as fast as I can. Not quick enough though. A foot connects with my ribs and I collapse again. I look over at the Blacksuit. Surely he'll come and stop this? The Blacksuit sighs and gets lazily to his feet. I hope I don't get put in the Hole again. Actually, scrap that, I hope I survive the next few seconds. Another foot connects with my face and I feel my nose break. I howl in pain, feeling blood gush down my face. I force myself to get up and charge straight at the Skulls, hoping to bulldoze straight through them. Instead I bounce off and fall to the floor once again. Almost immediately I'm dragged to my feet, spun round, and my face slammed into the wall. And again. And again.

Then I feel the hand ripped away from my head and almost collapse with relief. The Blacksuit has finally got here. I begin to fall but someone catches me, picks me up and strides towards the hospital. I lay over the Blacksuit's shoulder, only half conscious, and just feel relieved to be alive.

And although I'm in so much pain that I barely know what's going on, I still feel a thrill of excitement when I'm carried past an air vent set in the wall, more than large enough for a person to fit inside.


	12. Chapter 12

Even in my delirious, semi-conscious state I'm still elated at my discovery. I distantly hear Blacksuits talking about me, saying things like "concussion", "broken nose" and "bruised ribs". But those words mean nothing to me. I feel invincible, despite the pain I'm in. I've discovered a way out of Furnace. Who would've thought the sight of a simple air vent would make me feel this good? It's perfect. More than large enough for me to crawl inside, and set in the wall rather than the ceiling so that I don't have to climb vertically upwards. The small voice of reason in my head is pointing out the many flaws in my plan, that in order to get to the surface the vent will need to go straight up at some point, that it might get narrower as I get further in, that it's so high on the wall I'll need to find a way to get up there in the first place, that somehow I'll have to get in it without being seen. But I wave those thoughts away. They're minor problems, and I can sort them out later when my head is more clear. For now, I just want to enjoy this victory while it lasts. I begin to laugh quietly, and a Blacksuit turns to look at me.

"He's awake," he said, sounding surprised. The other Blacksuit snorts.

"Not for long he's not." He snaps his fingers at a wheezer and points at me. The horrible, gas masked creature removes a filthy syringe from its long coat and walks towards me.

"No... don't..." I rasp. But the wheezer digs the needle into my arm and after a few seconds the effect of the drug sends me into a deep, dreamless sleep.

I wake up groggily, feeling sorry for myself. My entire head hurts, my nose especially, and my chest and everything really is aching. My heart sinks as I remember the last time I was in this situation. I got put in the Hole for two days, and that was a first offence. I'm not sure I can survive any more time down there. But then I remember my escape route, and tell myself that no matter what punishment they give me, I will endure it. I'm so close to getting out of here, I can't give up now. A Blacksuit walks past my bed and looks at me.

"Oh. So you're awake now." I nod, trying to stay brave but dreading what's going to come next.

"Well? Get out of bed. You're fine now. Your nose is broken and you're probably concussed but you'll live. We've done what we can. Now get up and come with me." I get up, aching with every small movement I made. Larger movements were agony. I wanted to ask the Blacksuit how long I'd be in the Hole for but I was so scared I wasn't sure I really wanted to know. Obediently, I follow the Blacksuit out of the Infirmary.

However, the Blacksuit does not take me to the Hole as I'd been dreading. He simply led me back to my cell. I'm suspicious, wondering if this was part of some new, worse punishment. But then I remember what Jake said about punishments being completely random down here. I guess this time I just got lucky. I remain silent as the Blacksuit locks the door and behind me and walks away. Jake rises from his bunk.

"Scott!" He jumps off the bunk and runs to me. "I'm so sorry, Scott... I should have helped you..."

"It's fine," I say. "There was nothing you could've done anyway." He shakes his head.

"I could've gone and got a Blacksuit and told him what was going on... or distracted them so you could get away... or..."

"Yes, but then you'd be in trouble with the Skulls too," I reply, cutting him off. "You made the right decision." He hung his head.

"I thought you were dead," he said quietly. "You have no idea how awful I felt. I felt like it was my fault."

"No! You didn't lead them to me, or tell them where I was! It wasn't your fault. You've already spent 4 days in the Hole because of me, I don't blame you for not wanting anything like that to happen again."

"But..." he sighs. "I still should have done something."

"There was nothing you could've done. Remember, it doesn't matter what I do down here." I lower my voice to a whisper. "I'm getting out of here, so it doesn't matter who I piss off. You're staying behind though, if you get on the wrong side of the Skulls..."

"Are you still talking about this? After all that's happened, you still think you can get out?" Jake whispers back.

"Like I said before, I need to. I've got lucky with the Skulls twice, if they find me again they will kill me. Anyway," I lower my voice even more and look around furtively. "I think I know how I'm going to do it."

Jake stares at me. I hesitate, knowing I shouldn't involve him in this, but not wanting to make this attempt alone.

"It's not too late to change your mind. You can come with me... I don't know when I'll do it, but it'll be soon. Things are only gonna get worse for me from now on. I can't stay here much longer. Come with me, Jake. By the end of this week, we could both be out of here. We could be free. We'd get to see daylight again, get to eat proper food, sleep in proper beds, see our families..." I begin to sob quietly. I know I shouldn't be doing this, I should just respect the choice he's made and leave him out of this. But I have to try. "Please Jake. I don't want to do this alone. I'm... I'm scared. If I've messed up, if I've made one tiny mistake I am going to die a probably painful death. But if I stay I'm going to die too. I don't want to do this alone..." Jake is watching my breakdown, wide eyed, unsure what to say. I can see he's tempted. He wants to get out of here as much as I do. But unlike me, he doesn't believe it's possible. I shouldn't be forcing him to choose like this, but the presence of a friend would make it seem a lot less terrifying.

"Scott... I..." he shakes his head and sighs. "Don't do this." Out of all the responses I was expecting, this was not one.

"You don't understand... I have to! I've told you, I'll die... much longer in here and... I... I..." I stop talking, my emotions overflowing.

"You've been here for almost a month! In all that time... the Skulls have only caught you twice. I'll help you, I'll look out for them, stop them finding you..."

"I can't! I can't stay!"

"If you try to escape you will DIE!" Jake shouts. I go silent. Quiet, shy Jake never shouts. "You will die," he repeats more quietly. "I don't want you to die. Don't do this."

"But I'm dead anyway!" I mumble miserably. "At least this way I have a chance..."

"There's another way..."

"What other way?! There is no other way! One day, the Skulls will find me. They'll beat me up and this time I won't get saved by a lockdown or a Blacksuit. They will murder me. Look at my face!" I gesture angrily towards my broken, bruised face. "This is what happens when they find me. And I got lucky this time! If there hadn't been a Blacksuit, if he hadn't come over, I would be dead! Even if I do spend the rest of my life down here being saved by the Blacksuits, I'll end up in the Hole so many times I'll just go crazy! What part of it don't you understand? I'd appreciate if you came with me, but you don't have to. At the end of the day you still have a choice. I don't have that choice. I..."  
"Scott!" Jake interrupts. "There's another way."

"Fine then, what's this "magical solution" you've come up with?" I snarl. Jake looks at me, thinking very carefully about his next words.

"There's more than one gang down here," he says. "They fight from time to time, but usually they don't mess with eachother too much. You could go to a rival gang, convince them to protect you... the Skulls wouldn't like it, but they'd accept it. You'd be safe. Nobody would come after you." I stare at him, unable to believe what he's saying.

"You think I should join a gang?!"

"No! You don't have to _join _them! Just convince them to protect you!"

"Why would they want to protect me? What have I got to offer them that would be worth it?!" Jake hesitates, then leans in.

"You know a way out of the prison," he says softly. "Down here, that's about the best thing anyone could ever offer."

"But I don't even know if it will work," I say. "There are so many problems with the plan... anything could go wrong, and if I end up getting one of them caught because my escape plan wasn't good enough..."

"Then you would have died anyway if you'd tried to escape that way," finishes Jake. "Think about it Scott. You're more likely to survive this way. Finish your escape plans. Go to a gang. Tell them you've got a way out and you'll tell them if they protect you from Kevin."

"So I've got three choices," I say miserably. "Escape and probably die trying. Get killed by the Skulls. Or live down here for the rest of my life as another gang's "pet"."

"Two of those involve you dying. One of those lets you live." Jake looks at me, then climbs back into bed. "I don't want to rush you, but you're going to have to decide quickly." Shaking, I crawl into bed. I spend the rest of the night awake, thinking about what I'm going to do.


	13. Chapter 13

Even a whole night of pondering my options wasn't enough for me to decide what I should do. Ever since I'd got here, my one goal had been escape no matter what the cost. I knew that I probably wouldn't survive long enough to get out, or if I did then I would probably end up getting caught. I'd never considered that there might be another way. If I did as Jake suggested and got protection from another gang, I would be as safe as anyone else in this place. Perhaps even more safe. That is, if my escape plan worked for the gang member who tried it. I have no doubt whatsoever that if I told them how to get out, and one of them tried and failed, I would be blamed. They wouldn't want to protect me any longer, and I would have two gangs after me rather than one. But then if the plan worked and they escaped successfully, I'd have to live with the knowledge that that could've been me. I could try it myself after they'd got out, but as soon as the Blacksuits realised how they did it they'd take steps to ensure it never happens again. By telling someone else, I'd be cutting off my escape route for myself, basically ensuring I'm locked down here forever. Either way I'd be unhappy with the result. But would I rather do that, or face almost certain death...?

I put the dilemma out of my head for now. Whatever I decide to do, I'll need an escape plan without flaws. Whether it's me or a gang member who tries this, if something goes wrong I will die. I need to think of what problems I'm going to have and solve them. First and most importantly, how will I get in the air vent without being seen? The vent is quite high on the wall, and I'll need to remove the grille. Unfortunately it's also quite near the lift, so there'll be Blacksuits around. I don't think it's in view of the machine gun cameras though, which is a relief. So, when are Blacksuits not likely to be there? Maybe in the middle of the night, but I can't be sure of that. I had the idea a while ago about jamming my cell door open, so going there in the middle of the night is a possibility, but there's just too much risk involved! Even if I do make it to the vent unobserved, it's right next to the lift so there might be a guard. No, I need sometime that there's guaranteed to be no guards. Maybe when they're all distracted by something else...

Lockdown. That's it. They'll be too busy making sure everyone's getting back to their cells to guard the lift. But the one obvious, glaring problem with this is the dogs. They'll release them, and they'll be able to smell that I'm not going where I should be. Whether they'll come after me, or just continue chasing everyone else, I don't know. I don't want to risk it. Looks like middle of the night it is. OK, next problem. How do I get up there? I'll need something to climb on. Or a rope to pull myself up there or something, I don't know. I sigh and sit back down on my bed. That's when the idea hits me. Bedsheets. If I tie a small-ish rock or a piece of cutlery or something to one end I can try to throw it through the grille, and hopefully it'll catch and let me carry up. I laugh out loud at how ridiculous the idea is. But it might just work. Next, how to undo the screws on the grille. After thinking for a while I decide I need to get another look at the screws first. What I can use to undo them depends on the size of the screw.

As for what to do if the air vent starts going vertical, or gets narrower as I go in... I don't know. I was thinking about it last night, and it makes sense in my head that the air vent probably connects with the lift shaft. You may as well only have one shaft going to the surface than two. Hopefully I'll go in, end up on top of the lift, then just wait for someone to go up in it. Hopefully. If not, it looks like a long climb for me. As I'm thinking of possible alternatives, the siren goes off and the cell door slides open. Sighing, I exit the cell, not waiting for Jake. It would have been so much easier if he'd never mentioned that possibility...

I eat my breakfast absent mindedly, not caring that Jake had sat right opposite me on the bench and was staring intently at me, obviously wanting me to say something. What can I say? I've thought it over and I still don't know what I'm going to do. Silently, we finish eating and head to see what our jobs for the day are. I silently groan to myself as I see that both Jake and I are doing laundry. As it goes it's one of the better jobs, but I need some time away from Jake so I can decide without him breathing down the back of my neck. Still not acknowledging his presence, I head to the laundry room.

As I enter the room, everyone in the room stops and stares. My heart sinks and I stop right where I am. Jake doesn't notice and walks straight into me.

"What the...?" Then he stops. There are 5 other people doing the laundry with us. One of them is Kevin, and I'm pretty sure the rest are also Skulls. No... no! I begin to back out of the room, but then I stop. Do I really want this to be the rest of my life? Even if I get protection from another gang, I'll still feel scared and paranoid whenever a Skull walks past. They'll probably find some loophole too. The gang will get on the wrong side of them at some point and they'll kill me in retaliation. No, I was right when I thought escape was the only option. Even if I wanted to change my mind now it's too late. If I don't do something fast, I'm going to die right now. It's now or never.

"Jake," I say quietly, as Kevin begins walking towards me, a twisted grin on his face. "This is goodbye. I'm out of here." Then I leap at Kevin.

He's not expecting it, so he falls backwards right away. I put all my effort into fighting dirty; biting, spitting, clawing at his eyes. My eyes are drawn to the camera in the corner of the room. Let them watch. I need to create enough havoc to cause a lockdown. Kevin shoves me off, and swings at my face, snarling.

"Don't just stand there you morons!" He growls. Three of the five other people in the room start moving towards me. The other two just stand by looking shocked. I guess they're not Skulls after all. I waste no time and bulldoze into one of them, knocking him to the floor. However one of the others manages to get me in a headlock. I twist and thrash wildly, but he grips tighter and I choke slightly. The third guy cracks his knuckles and comes towards me. Bracing myself against the guy behind me, I lift both my feet off the floor and kick out. The effort causes my stomach muscles to scream in protest, but it works. It also has the added effect of making the guy who's got me caught lose his balance and fall. We both crash to the ground and I roll off and leap to my feet.

Kevin meanwhile has got to his feet. He reaches inside his sleeve, pulls out a spoon with the end sharpened to a point, and lunges at me with the makeshift weapon, aiming straight for my chest. I dodge out of the way but feel a searing pain in my arm. I turn to see that someone else has pulled out a similar weapon, and managed to slice open my arm. It hurts, but the cut isn't too deep. I back away, straight into another Skull. Quickly I twist around and hit him in the face. The others advance. This isn't good. I knew from the beginning that this was a losing battle, but I was hoping I'd be able to cause a lockdown before it got too serious. As I walk back even further I hit a shelf. I've run out of room to retreat. Not good. They form a semicircle around me, cutting off all possible escape route, and advance. Three of them have makeshift daggers, made out of sharpened spoons or chunks of rock. I fumble behind me for a weapon but find nothing but sheets. As a last resort, I grab a sheet, unfold it with a flick of my hand and throw it at them. It works a lot better than I'd expected. The sheet floats over and lands exactly where I'd hoped; right on their heads. They become entangled and I run around the edge of them, grabbing and throwing another sheet as I went. All I was doing now was buying time. A pointed spoon end protrudes from the sheet and I grab it, yanking it away from its owner. At least now I have a weapon. If I wanted to, I could kill Kevin right now.

I hesitate. Should I? _Could _I? I used to carry a knife before, just in case of this exact sort of situation. And look how badly that turned out. But I'd always known all along that I wouldn't be able to use it. But I've changed since being down here, I've got tougher. Do I have it in me to kill Kevin? It'd make life down here a lot more pleasant for some people. And it might also cause a lockdown, saving my life. It's too late now though. They've managed to get the sheet off them and advance towards me once more. Suddenly, I hear footsteps outside. Sounds like a Blacksuit is on his way. Suddenly I realise what I can do that will definitely create a lockdown. But if I do this, there's no going back. I could give up now, accept time in the Hole, and still go along with Jake's solution. But if I do this, I've made my choice. As the Blacksuit enters the room, I gather up all my courage and lunge at him.


	14. Chapter 14

As I slam into the Blacksuit's rock-like chest, I hear a gasp. Probably from Jake. The entire room has gone silent, staring open mouthed at the lunatic who has dared to attack a Blacksuit. The Blacksuit steps back a pace, obviously as confused as the others.

"And what," he says menacingly, "do you think you're doing?" I almost apologise, say it was just an accident and beg for forgiveness. But then I remember. I need to get out at all costs. Steeling my shaking nerves, I step forwards and jab the sharpened spoon into the Blacksuit's chest. He gasps, shocked and injured, and staggers back a little. I let go of the spoon, visibly shaking now. This was a bad idea. The makeshift dagger is too small to do any real damage. I've fucked up. I try to run out of the door, to push past him while he's still stunned that I was stupid enough to do that but as fast as lightning he grabs me by the throat, spins round, lifts me off my feet and slams me into the wall. I choke, scrabbling desperately at his huge hand that has me pinned to the wall. With his other hand, he grasps the makeshift dagger and pulls it out of his chest, ignoring the accompanying spurt of blood and throwing it contemptuously to the floor.

"What _exactly_ made you think that was a good idea?" He asks, slowly increasing the pressure on my throat. "You must have gone mad. You're going to die for this, you know that?" It's over. I failed.

His sadistic smile grows as he presses harder and harder against my throat. I gasp and wheeze, desperately trying to delay the inevitable. I'm already beginning to feel dizzy from lack of oxygen. I can see everyone in the room still frozen, completely stunned. Everyone except one person. I attempt to focus on him, my vision blurring. It's... Jake? He's walking slowly and stealthily towards us, carrying something white in his hands. A sheet? What is he planning?

"J..k" I rasp. "Don't..." This is the end for me, and I know it. Nothing he can do now can make any difference. He'll just end up getting himself into trouble. The Blacksuit obviously thinks I'm talking to him as he releases the pressure, just for a second.

"What's that? You want me to stop?" I suck in a quick, desperate breath before he slams me back on the wall, pressing even harder than before.

"Maybe you should've thought of that before you attacked me." I focus on Jake, watching his every movement. He's right behind the Blacksuit now, and still hasn't been noticed. Things then happen very fast.

"Watch out!" Jake yells suddenly, throwing the sheet over the Blacksuit's head. He then yanks the sheet, causing him to release my throat and fall backwards. I gasp and fall to the floor, precious oxygen flooding my lungs. Meanwhile Jake throws a corner of the sheet towards a Skull, who catches it instinctively. The Blacksuit gets to his feet, face contorted in rage. He rips the sheet off his head, causing the Skull to stagger towards him. Realising there's someone holding onto it, he turns to face the unfortunate Skull.

"So. You want to join in too?" The Skull realises what Jake has just done and drops the sheet like it suddenly burst into flames.

"No! It wasn't me..."

"I don't understand what is up with you lot today. Do you all suddenly have a death wish?"

"No! Please, it wasn't..." Suddenly I realise I'm being helped to my feet.

"Jake..." I mutter. "Thank you..."

"Never mind that. Just go," Jake says. "Before he realises you're still alive." I suddenly realise there are tears in his eyes.

"Jake... come with me. The Skulls won't be happy with you..."

"No, they won't. But nobody ever notices me. They won't even remember what I look like."

"But we can escape..."

"Scott. Go. I'll come with you a little way, but you have to get out of here." Then, the sound that I'd been hoping for. One long blast on the siren. Lockdown.

For a split second, everyone in the room stops what they're doing. Jake is the first person to react. Grabbing my arm, he pulls me out of the room. As we leave, I snag a sheet off the side and scoop up the makeshift dagger from the floor. I'm going to need them. Running as fast as I can, I tie the spoon-dagger to the end of the sheet. Jake watches me do it as we run.

"I hope you know what you're doing," he pants. I skid to a halt. We've reached the air vent. Jake stops.

"Scott?"

"This is it Jake. This is how I'm getting out. Last chance to come with me." For what seems like forever, he contemplates the question. Then slowly shakes his head.

"I can't," he says quietly.

"Then this is goodbye," I say, trying not to sob. I give him one last, brief hug.

"Good luck, Scott." He says tearfully, then runs off down the corridor. I grab the sheet and swing the end with the spoon at the air vent. It bounces off. Trying my best not to be put off, I try again. And again. And again. Each time becoming more desperate.

"Come _on!_" I mutter, frantically trying to get it in. Just as I'm about to give up hope, the spoon sails through the grille.

Cautiously, I tug on the sheet. The spoon sticks in the grille and I breathe a sigh of relief. Not wasting any time, I put my entire weight on the sheet and attempt to walk up the wall. It's more difficult than I expect and I slide down a few times. There's one heartwrenching moment when the spoon almost slips out of the grille, but thankfully it doesn't. Even if I wasn't worrying before, I was now. It seems like it's been far too long without anyone coming down this corridor. Although, I remind myself, this was the whole reason why I needed a lockdown. All of the Blacksuits are busy making sure everyone's in their cells. After what seems like an eternity, I reach the grille and grasp it tightly. As if what I'd just done hadn't been tricky enough, I now had to hold my entire weight up using the grille whilst trying to remove the spoon. My fingers are beginning to cramp but I get the spoon out, switching hands quickly. I insert the sharpened end into one of the screws at the bottom of the grille, twisting. My arms are killing me, but eventually the screw pops out and falls to the floor. I breathe a sigh of relief and begin working on the second one. And freeze as I hear a sound.

Barking.

Panicking, I twist the spoon faster and faster. The dogs are coming. They've smelt me. Dread rises up in me and I find myself wishing Jake hadn't intervened. If the Blacksuit had killed me, then I wouldn't die this way. I wouldn't be torn to pieces by those creatures. Frustrated, I yank on the grille. _Why won't the screw come out?!_ Then disaster happens. The spoon slips from my fumbling, sweaty hands and drops to the ground. The breath catches in my throat and I begin to feel sick and dizzy. The dogs are getting ever closer, I can hear them, and I've lost the spoon. Desperately, I grasp the screw with my fingers. It's sticking out just enough to turn it by hand. Shaking, I yank it out and throw it to the floor. The dogs are just around the corner now. If I don't manage this final push, I won't make it. With the last of my strength, I grip the bottom of the grille, brace my legs against the wall and then push hard, swinging the grille up and running my feet up the wall and into the air vent, using the momentum to swing my whole body inside. Without skipping a beat, I twist around and pull the sheet up and into the air vent with me. I turn and see a dog leap up, fangs bared but nowhere near high enough to get in the vent. Quickly, I swing the vent closed and shuffle forwards until I find a corner to hide around, extremely aware of the loud bangs that accompany my every movement. Then I slump against the side of the vent, exhausted and exhilarated. I may not have made it out yet, but the most difficult part is over. As long as they don't realise what I've done, I'm safe for now.

…...

Or at least, that's what I thought at the time.


	15. Chapter 15

I decide to stay where I was until the dogs have gone. Not just because of the noise I'll make when I move, but because the exertion my body has been through has just caught up with me and I don't think I could move even if I wanted to. My arms feel limp and useless from hanging from the grille, and my neck is bruised and sore from being strangled. Added to the injuries I sustained from my last few tangles with the Skulls, and I'm just one big walking bruise. It's a bit chilly in the vent so I wrap myself up in the sheet I stole, thankful that I'd remembered to pull it in after me during the chaos of my escape. As well as being useful for warmth now, if I'd left it there it would take the Blacksuits about three seconds to figure out where I went. A horrible thought suddenly occurs to me. I'd dropped the spoon outside the vent, as well as the two screws I'd taken out. The spoon wasn't too much of a problem, they'll just assume I dropped it when I was running. But if they see the screws it won't take long for them to work it out. There's nothing I can do about it now, though. I sit shivering in the darkness of the vent, listening to the demented howls of the dogs.

After a few minutes I hear footsteps and a pair of voices. This is it. Yet another point where my plan might come crashing down around me.

"He went this way. He must have!"

"Well there's no sign of him..."

"Maybe a dog got him. But if they did, where's the blood?"

"Well they're just sitting there howling. If he was anywhere nearby and alive they'd be chasing him."

"What's that on the floor?" My heart skipped a beat.

"It's that shank he got me with! He _must _have gone down here!"

"Well then let's go find him! Bring the dogs along, they'll help." I breathe a silent sigh of relief as the voices receded, taking the dogs with them. Now that the immediate danger has passed, my body completely gives up and I begin to drift off to sleep.

I wake suddenly, and for a moment think I'm in the Hole again because of the cramped conditions and darkness. I panic and smack my head on the ceiling. A loud clang echoes around me and I freeze, horrified. After a few minutes of agonised waiting, it appears I was lucky and nobody heard. I silently criticise myself for almost getting myself caught in such a stupid way. I'll have to be more careful. From the uncanny silence and darkness, I'm guessing that it's night and everyone is in bed. I'll still have to be careful not to make noise though. There may still be Blacksuits patrolling the prison. Silently, I get on my hands and knees and begin trudging deeper into the air vent. Every slight noise sounds deafening to me, even my breathing. But I keep going. It occurs to me that I really have no clue where I'm going. I should really be careful. I could end up crossing in front of another air vent, and somebody could see me. Instead of blindly wandering, I stop and sit down. My hands and knees are sore from crawling, so it's a welcome break anyway. I curl up into a ball and think about where I came in. I'm trying to get to the lift shaft, so...

I sigh as I realise I've been going completely the wrong way. Or have I? When I think about it, I have no idea which way I've been going. I swear silently to myself as I realise that I've gone and gotten myself totally and utterly lost. I was so filled with adrenaline from my escape that I just kept moving without even thinking about where I was going. The more I think about it, the worse my situation gets. I'm lost in the dark in a set of air vents which go around the entire prison, with no points of reference. My best chance is to find another grille which I can peek out of to get my bearings, but even that's horribly dangerous. Anyone could see me. So either way I have to continue wandering aimlessly and hope I find something before I die of thirst or catch hypothermia. The cool breeze which was such a relief when I was down in the heat of Furnace feels more like an Arctic wind when I'm constantly exposed to it in these damn vents. The sheet I stole provides a little extra warmth, but I'm still uncomfortably cold. For now, the best thing to do is keep moving. It'll help me keep warm and I'll never find anything by just sitting here. With a sigh, I get back on my hands and knees and continue moving.

After what feels like hours, I still haven't found anything. As I crawl forwards, ignoring the screams of protest from my knees, I reflect that this is actually pretty similar to the Hole. Yes it's a lot less dark, but I'm completely alone in a space that's too small for me, thinking about all the things that I've done wrong. It wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to be so silent. There have been a couple of occasions already where I've just wanted to curl up and cry but I can't because someone might hear me. There's nothing I can do except keep crawling. Suddenly the siren lets off a blast. I jump, causing a loud _clang_. Luckily the siren drowns out the sound, so I sigh with relief and continue shuffling along. I guess that means it's morning. That means I've been in these vents for just less than a whole day. As if to confirm this, my stomach grumbles noisily. Hopefully it won't be doing that too much, what a stupid way to get caught that would be! But it also reminds me that I haven't eaten, or more importantly drank, anything in a while. I feel the walls of the vent but unlike the Hole there's no condensation for me to lick off. I sigh and continue forwards. And freeze as my fingers touch a grille rather than the smooth metal of the air vent.

Quickly, I snatch my fingers away, all the while listening for any sign that somebody had seen them. After a couple of seconds of agonising waiting, I decide that I must have gotten away with it. Cautiously I creep forwards and gathering all my courage, look out of the tiny vent set in the floor. Below me is an empty cell. I'm in gen pop! A thrill of happiness runs through me. I'm not so lost anymore. The happiness quickly dissipates however as I realise that I have no idea what floor I'm on, and don't know what end of gen pop I'm at. Frustrated, I groan out loud, forgetting the need for silence. Realising what I just did, I clamp my hand over my mouth, staring wide eyed into the cell below and hoping nobody heard. I'd originally thought the cell was empty, but staring back at me is one very confused looking inmate.


	16. Chapter 16

For a few painful, almost awkward seconds we stare at eachother, neither of us quite sure what to say. Then he breaks eye contact and looks outside his cell quickly before saying quietly "Are you Scott White?"

"Y-yeah," I stammer. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. I look at him, trying to work out if I've met him before, but I don't recognise him. His eyes widen.

"After the Lockdown yesterday, the Warden talked to all of us. He said you'd gone missing and promised that anyone that found you and turned you in wouldn't have to do chores for a month, and would get fed separately from the rest of the prisoners." My heart practically stops.

"Please... don't..." I say weakly. I can't have gone through all of this just to get snitched on. "I'll tell you how I did it... you can escape too..."

"He also said that if he found out that anybody had been helping you, that person would regret it."

"Please..." He looks away and shakes his head.

"I don't know. I would like the rewards. But my cell mate..." he cringes. "He'd make life even more difficult for me if I got any special privileges. And," he looks me directly in the eye, "they said that if they find you they're going to kill you. I don't know you, but I don't want to sacrifice anybody's life for a months comfort." The relief I feel is overwhelming.

"Thank you... thank you so much!"

"Besides," his voice drops to a whisper. "If you get out you can tell the police about this place. What they're doing down here, it's not legal! So I won't snitch on you, on the condition you go straight to the police when you get out."

"Thank you..." I say again. "I promise. Even if I get arrested again. I'll go straight to the police."

"I'm holding you to that," he says, and makes to leave.

"Wait!" I say quickly. "One last favour. Which way to the lift?"

"Keep going straight that way. Turn left when you get to the canteen, if you can tell where that is. Good luck. I don't know you, but I really hope you get out of here. You're the only one who's been brave enough to try. You deserve to get out."

"Thank you," I whisper and continue in the direction he pointed.

I have to go carefully from then on, since I was heading directly over the cells of gen pop. Most of them were empty, their occupants having left for breakfast, but there were still a couple of stragglers that I have to watch out for. I almost shuffle straight across a vent without looking, only to hear the clang of the cell door opening and watch as a Blacksuit bursts into the cell.

"There you are. You're coming with me. And you too." He grabs someone, and I hear a brief struggle.

"Get off! I didn't do anything!"

"Really. So how come there are three people in this cell instead of two?" My heart thumps as I realise how close I'd just come to getting discovered. Again.

"He wasn't doing anything! He just came here to visit before breakfast!"

"Either way, these two were involved in some stuff yesterday. They're going to the Hole, and unless you'd like to join them I suggest you shut up." I listen intently. Could this "stuff" be something I caused? Maybe someone else heard of my escape and tried it themselves. But then surely the punishment would be more than the Hole? Cautiously, heart racing with every tiny movement, I inch forwards so I can look down into the cell. What I see gives me the biggest smile I've had in a while. The people being dragged kicking and screaming from the cell are Kevin and one of the guys from the laundry room. I think he's the one Jake framed with the bed sheet. The third person in the cell I don't recognise but I can tell from his bandanna he's also a Skull. I grin. It seems sheet guy was hiding out in Kevin's cell overnight to avoid getting in trouble for what happened in the laundry room. But now the Blacksuits have found him and both he and Kevin are now in trouble. The Blacksuit drags them away, while the third guy stands watching before heading off for breakfast. I begin shuffling forwards before realising that I really need a pee. My eyes fall on the air vent above their cell and my smile grows ever wider.

Refreshed and laughing silently to myself, I continue crawling silently through the vents. Not that I really need to be that quiet, as the prison has now woken up completely and the noise they're making must drown out any sound I make. I follow the noise, continuing in the direction that I had been directed in. As the voices get louder and louder I slow down, guessing that I'm nearing the canteen and remembering that there's an air vent in the wall that I'm probably going to have to cross. I reach the vent and risk a quick glance through it. The canteen is chock full. I sit down and curl up, not wanting to risk crossing now. I'll do it later when everyone's finished breakfast. For now, I think I'll try to have another nap.

When I awake the canteen is empty. I double check just to be sure, then continuing forwards. Remembering what the guy had told me, I turn left at the nearest opportunity. I'm nearly at the lift, I can tell it! However happy I am at this though, there's one small thing nagging at the back of my mind. Well, more accurately at the back of my throat. I'm thirsty. Very thirsty. I haven't drunk anything in over a day. I haven't eaten either, but that's not such a pressing problem. I hope when I get to the lift it goes up soon. I don't want to be stuck there with nothing to eat or drink. I'm probably already slightly dehydrated, I just hope it doesn't get any worse.

Finally, I reach what I've been looking for. The air vent opens out onto a sheer drop. Smiling with joy, I look down and see the top of the lift, not too far beneath me. I've made it! Suddenly escape seems real. I'm going to get out of here, see daylight again! I grab the edge, twist round and lower myself down onto the lift. And now I wait. But one thing's for sure. I've made it to the lift. They can't find me now.

I'm getting out of here.


	17. Chapter 17

I wake up and groan. No... I don't want to be awake, let me sleep! Being awake right now is just too much to handle. My throat is burning, my head is pounding and my stomach has curled up into a tight ball of pain. In short, my body is shutting down and I have no way to stop it. I'm dying.

I've been up here for at least 4 days judging by the sounds I've heard coming from the prison. I've had no food, and the only water I've had is the condensation on top of the lift. I shuffle onto my knees, still careful I don't make a noise, and begin licking the lift. It's disgusting but it's the only way I can survive. And even this isn't going to keep me alive for long; such a small amount of water is only delaying the inevitable. Once I'm sure I've licked every millimetre of the lift clean of water, I collapse onto my side, the dizziness caused by moving too much to cope with. I wish I'd had more time. I could've planned for this. Could've found out when a new batch of prisoners was coming and hijacked the lift then. But now I'm stuck until someone decides to go up to the surface. Could be a couple of seconds, could be a month.

Unless it's within the next day, I'm dead. Humans can survive for 3 days without water. I've been here about 4 days with tiny amounts of water. I don't have much time left, and either way there's not much I can do. Every small movement just makes me so dizzy I need to lay down again, so I just have to lay here and wait for the lift to move. Or die. What happens from here on is purely due to luck.

Out of the corner of my eye I see a spider beginning to make a web on the lift top. Idly, I begin to wish I was a spider. Spiders can't get sent to prison. Even though this one's in Furnace it doesn't have to go through the horrors we do. The worst that could happen to this spider is someone squashes it. I reach out a hand for the spider and let it walk up and down my fingers, moving it from hand to hand. All that spider needs to worry about is getting enough to eat and drink. Like me at the moment. Suddenly I feel angry at the spider. It's stealing my water. I close my hand and crush the spider. Then, unable to believe what I'm doing, I stick my tongue out and lick the squashed remains off my hand. Yes, it's horrible. Yes, it tastes disgusting. Yes, it probably won't make any difference in the long run. But it's food.

I hunt around and find a couple more spiders. I eat these too, but this achieves nothing except reminding my stomach I haven't eaten. They're just too small to make a difference. If only there was a rat around or something... My stomach turns at the thought but at the same time, I know that if I saw a rat or mouse right now I'd be on it in a flash. In my desperation I even try eating the spider's webs. It feels like eating hair but I swallow it down anyway. Right now, even a disgusting-looking bowl of slop would seem like a meal in a five star restaurant. I look around and see a large spider high up on the walls of the lift shaft. I carefully climb to my feet and take a cautious couple of steps towards it. I stretch out my hand, but it's just out of my reach. I bend my knees and jump, grabbing the spider. As soon as my feet touch the lift I realise it was a mistake. There's a loud "THUMP" as I land, and on top of that I stumble and the dizziness returns. I lose my balance and fall to the floor, creating another loud thump. Normally I'd be worried someone heard, but right now I think I'm about to pass out, the dizziness is getting worse and...

I wake up to the floor vibrating. What? What's happening? Dazed and confused, I try to get up and nearly fall over, grabbing the wall for support. Except I can't grab the wall because it's... moving? The wall is going down?

No.

Wait.

The wall isn't going down. The lift is_ going up!_ I punch the air in joy, ecstatic. I did it. I'm on my way to freedom! I'm going to see the world again! I lay on my back, looking up for my first glimpse of daylight in over a month. It's going to be a while, I can't even see the ceiling of the lift shaft yet, but there's no harm in getting ready. Besides, I don't want to try standing up and pass out again. I might miss it!

"Hooray," I croak quietly to myself. The sound of my own voice shocks me, hoarse from my dry throat and a lack of use. But it doesn't matter now. The first thing I'm gonna do when I'm out there is run and find something to drink. I don't even care if it's from a pond or whatever! Then I'll go and get some fast food. I frown as I realise I have no money. Well, I'll get food somehow. Then... then I have to go to the police. I promised. But that can wait. First, I want to make sure I don't drop dead of thirst, then I want to celebrate with junk food.

It feels like far too long until I see the ceiling of the lift shaft, growing ever closer. I lay patiently, daydreaming about all the things I'm going to do once I'm out of here. As it gets closer and closer, my excitement grows and I begin giggling hysterically.  
"I'm going to get out of heeeeeere," I sing quietly. "I'm getting ouuuuuuut!" Someone cheers, and a second later I realise it was me. I clamp my hand over my mouth, still giggling but at the same time trying to be quiet. "Sssshhhh," I say quietly to myself. "Shhhh." I manage to retain my composure for a few seconds before I burst out laughing again.

Some small part of my brain is trying to tell me that this isn't normal, that I shouldn't be acting like this. But I'm not letting anything spoil this moment! "Especially not you, brain!" I mutter angrily. "Shut up!" There's a bump and the lift stops moving. I grin with excitement. This is it! I'm on the surface! But then my smile fades a little. Where do I go now? I look left and right, then see an air vent.  
"Well it looks like I'm going that way," I slur. It's getting more difficult to talk with a dry mouth. Clumsily, I climb into the air vent and begin the last part of my journey to freedom.


	18. Chapter 18

I crawl along the air vents, singing to myself. It's not a proper song, just something that I'm making up on the spot. It sounds awful, but it's a lot better than nothing. I'm sick of being quiet. Why did I need to be quiet anyway?! I've come this far, the Blacksuits will never find me now! They can't. I shuffle forwards happily, ignoring the confused sounding voices I can hear talking to eachother. Oblivious of the fact that if I can hear them, they can hear me.

I reach an air vent and peek through it. Nobody is in the room, and I can see a door. That's it! That door must be the exit! The small, sane portion of my brain is screaming at how stupid I'm being, that there's no reason whatsoever why that door should be the exit, that I should shut up right now and wait for a safe opportunity rather than blindly bursting out there. But why? I'm here. I can't be caught now. "That's not how it works," I say out loud, spiting the part of my brain that's telling me to be quiet. "I've made it this far so now I'm basically free!" I grab hold of the metal grille on the air vent and push. It remains firmly in place. "Get OFF!" I growl, and begin shaking it back and forth, trying to make it come loose. The rattling gets louder and louder and I hear someone say "Do you hear that?" Fortunately, I've got enough sense left in me to panic and shuffle back down the vent, hiding around a corner as two Blacksuits run into the room. Too scared to look around the corner and see what's going on, I freeze.  
"No, nobody's here. Strange..."  
"Hold on..." I hear someone walk towards the air vent and almost laugh. They'll never find me.  
"Never mind, you're right. Nobody's here. Let's go." I grin and wait for a couple of minutes before crawling back to the vent and pushing it again. To my surprise, it swings open easily this time. I must have broken it when I was shaking it earlier. I climb out, thinking how lucky I was that I broke it. But the small, rational part of my brain doesn't think that I broke the vent. The small rational part of my brain says...

It's a trap.

"There he is!" I ignore the shout and begin running as fast as I can. Running towards the door that leads outside to daylight and freedom. I'm so close I can feel it. The warmth of the sunlight on my skin, the fresh air blowing on my face, the elation that I'm no longer a prisoner of Furnace.

I'm free.

I ignore the thundering footsteps behind me, chasing me, trying to reclaim me and drag me back down to Furnace. I can do this. For a moment the dizziness returns, causing me to stumble and almost fall. I force myself back up, pushing the dizziness to a distant corner of my brain. I can do this! Now I'm at the door and I grab the handle, pushing it down as I push the door forwards. The door opens and I stumble outside.

Outside.

The daylight blinds me, forcing me to squint. I can barely see, but I continue running. It's exactly as I imagined. The sun is shining and a cool breeze is blowing. It's a perfect day. But I can't stop to enjoy it yet. The gates to the Black Fort are ahead of me. Once I go through them, it's official. My first steps out of Furnace in God knows how long. I suck in great gasps of air, doing everything I can to keep the dizziness at bay. If I pass out or fall now, I'm finished. And it can't end here. Not when I'm so close to the gates. I muster up the last of my strength and run even faster, all the while getting ever closer to the gates. With one final burst of speed, I do it.

I run through the gates.

A burst of joy spreads through me. I've done it. I've escaped Furnace. I laugh out loud. All this time, all this planning, all this danger. It was worth it just for this one moment of freedom. I'm out. They can't get me now. I'm invincible. This is it.

There's a deafening "BANG!"

Pain erupts in my leg and I fall forwards, skidding across the floor. I try to get up and continue running but the dizziness returns, a million times worse than before.

"No," I gasp, desperately trying to get to my feet. "No no no no no..." Not now... I lose my balance and fall back down, landing in a small puddle of what I realise is blood.

My own blood. I've been shot in the leg.

I crawl forwards sobbing pathetically, leg screaming in agony, dizziness slowly but surely becoming worse. The edges of my vision are starting to go black. The footsteps are getting closer, and someone laughs.

"You're a clever one, aren't you? You nearly made it! You'll have to tell us how when we get you back down there." I thrash wildly and claw at the ground as someone's hands grasp me under my armpits and lift me into the air.

"Give it up. You're finished." Although I know it's the truth I continue fighting feebly with all of my remaining strength. Got to get him off me. Got to keep on running. Got to get away. The Blacksuit holding me sighs.

"Stop your wriggling!" He snarls, and cuffs me around the head. Lights pop in my fading vision, and I go limp, completely drained. Satisfied, the Blacksuit throws me over his shoulder effortlessly and begins walking back to Furnace. Back to the prison. Back to my inevitable death. Using my last morsel of strength, I take the opportunity to look upwards at the sky that I am never going to see again. Savouring my last glimpse of daylight. "Goodbye," I whisper. Then I let my head drop and allow my vision to fade, giving in to the dizziness.

Lights. Screaming. Agony. I let out a long, loud cry of pain and sorrow, putting all of my emotions into this one sound. I'm a dead man and everyone knows it. So why am I in the infirmary? Why has the bullet been removed, and my leg wrapped in bandages? Why is there a Blacksuit slowly feeding me water, drop by drop? Why have I been hand-fed food for the past few days? Why cure me if they're just going to kill me anyway?

Why won't they just let me die?

Deep inside, I know the answer to this question, but it's too horrible to acknowledge. Instead I allow my mind to fill itself with false hope, that maybe they'll just put me in the Hole for a couple of days, maybe they're planning to let me off if I tell them how I did it. Yes, that's why. Definitely not because allowing me to die now would be too kind, that they want me healthy and sane before my painful, humiliating execution. Definitely not that.

But then my thoughts start going in a different direction. I know why they're doing this, much as I want to deny it to myself. I may not know the exact nature of what's in store for me, but I know that it's going to be worse that anything I could ever imagine. So why give them the satisfaction of being healthy and sane? Wouldn't it be easier for me if I was mad? Or... if I was dead.

Weakly, I raise a hand, pushing the cup of water away.

"No," I rasp.

"No?" Asks the Blacksuit, feigning concern. "Scott, you need to drink. You were delerious because of dehydration!"

"I... I'm gonna throw up," I croak, then begin retching loudly. The Blacksuit leaps back, swearing. I see anger flash in his eyes, quickly covered up by false concern.

"I'll go and get a wheezer," he says, almost kindly. "They'll help you go back to sleep." He hurries off, and I hear him directing a wheezer to me. This is it. There have been so many times now that I've thought "this is my last chance." But this time, I know deep inside that if I fail now, I will have no more chances. I'm going to die. It's come so far that this is unavoidable. But if I get this right, I can choose how I die. I don't have to go through whatever torture they have planned for me. If I get this right, it won't be painless, but it'll be a lot better than the alternative. So much better.

The wheezer approaches, pulling out a filthy syringe from an inside pocket. Not the pocket I'm focussing on, though. It leans down to insert the needle, and I lunge, smacking the hideous creature right in the gas mask. The resulting screech of pain is ear splitting. I ignore the sound and the resulting pain in my hand, and grab at its top pocket, closing my hand on the blade of a razor sharp scalpel. Shaking, I transfer my grip to the handle of the scalpel and raise it to my throat, ignoring the fact that I've sliced my hand open and there's blood dripping everywhere. The wheezer is still screeching and I know I don't have long before a Blacksuit comes to investigate. I close my eyes and press the cold metal against my neck. This is it. Now or never. I increase the pressure and the blade slightly nicks the skin, causing me to freeze as a single drop of blood slides down my neck. I'm scared. I don't want to die. Even though dying now will prevent a horrible, painful death later, I still don't know if I can do this. I hear footsteps and tighten my grip. Grimacing, I press harder, causing more blood to spill out of the tiny cut.

A Blacksuit appears and speeds towards me, fury and horror on his face. His expression refuels my motivation and I pull the scalpel back, planning to stab myself in the throat as hard as I can and get it over with. Yes, it will be messy and painful, but it'll be easier than slowly dragging it across my throat. I shut my eyes and prepare to die. It might not be the escape I wanted, but I'm still denying them what they want. I've won in my own way.

Or at least I would have, if I hadn't hesitated for a split second too long. Just before I was about to go ahead and finish it, the wheezer, apparently recovered, grabs my arm and twists it in a direction it should not go. I scream and drop the scalpel. As fast as lightning, the wheezer is on me and buries its syringe into my arm. Once again, everything goes black.

I wake up a few times after that, but not for long. Every time a Blacksuit realises I'm awake, they quickly call a wheezer to put me back to sleep. Although I hate it, I also feel relief every time the wheezer is called. It shows that I haven't recovered enough for them to kill me. That I'm not going to die right now. Not yet.

When I wake up yet again, the first thing I realise is that I'm strapped down to the bed. Guess they're not taking any more chances with me. I strain against the straps, without really expecting any result. I wasn't disappointed. Completely defeated, I begin to sob. I had one last chance and I blew it. Didn't have the guts to kill myself before they did. And now this is it. It must be, I wasn't strapped down any of the other times I woke up. They've finally deemed me healthy enough to fully suffer my punishment.

"Finally awake?" The cold voice cuts through my misery, and I look up. Straight into the eyes of the Warden. I look away quickly.

"So, Scott White." His voice is soft and calm but somehow still so angry.

"I have many things to say to you, but first of all I would like to congratulate you."

"C-congratulate me?" I stammer.

"Yes, congratulate you. You almost made it. _Very _impressive. I thought it was impossible. Of course I knew somebody would eventually try, but I was never expecting them to get that far. You actually managed to leave Furnace! Although," he sneers, "not for very long. Still, I consider this a great achievement. So, Scott, how did you do it?" For a moment I consider lying or refusing to tell, but I decide against it. He'll only torture it out of me anyway and even if he didn't, nobody will ever be insane enough to try and escape after what they're going to do to me.

"I got into the air vents during lockdown," I say. "I followed them to the lift shaft and waited on the lift."

"I see. Very clever. We shall have to reduce the size of those air vents to prevent it happening again. Not," his smile grows, "that I expect it to ever happen again." I remain silent.

"Which brings me onto less pleasant business." he continues, and my stomach flips. "There is the small matter of how you are to be punished." I look away.

"You're a clever boy, Scott. You must have guessed by now that we are going to kill you. The only question is... how? I could shoot you right now, but we both know that's not what I am going to do. We need to make an example of you, kill you in a way that will make people realise the consequences of trying to escape. How should we kill you, Scott?"

"I don't know," I snap. "You tell me!" He studies my face for a few seconds.

"Someone in your situation shouldn't be rude to me. Luckily for you, I've already decided how you're going to die and I have no plans on changing my mind. Do you want to know? Or would you rather keep it a surprise?" I hang my head.

"Tell me," I whisper. Surely it's better to know. The Warden's smile grows even larger.

"Excellent. Very brave of you. We are going to take you to gen pop so everyone can see. Then we are going to set the dogs loose on you."


	19. Chapter 19

So there it is. That's what happened. That was my escape attempt, and that was how it went wrong. Stupid, right? I was so close. _So close. _It was the dehydration that got me, made me think I would be free forever as long as I just managed to get outside. Made me decide it was a good idea to start _singing _to myself in the air vents. I let out a sob. Such a stupid thing that led to this, and something that could've been avoided so easily.

It's a bit late to start picking holes in my plan now though. I went through with it and it didn't work, end of. Right now I need to focus on running, even though everyone including myself knows its hopeless. But I can't stop. I can't just stand here and let those dogs tear me apart. I have to at least try. Gasping for breath, I look over my shoulder even though I really don't want to see exactly how soon I'm going to die. The sight is enough to make me increase my speed dramatically, even though I thought that there was no way I could possibly run any faster. All three dogs are swiftly gaining on me, jaws wide open and drool hanging from their mouths. One is much closer to me than the others; a few more seconds and it will be close enough to pounce. I let out a cry of fear as it draws ever closer despite my frantic attempts to get away. Someone laughs cruelly, and the dog leaps.

And then it's on me. The dog slams into me like a truck, knocking me to the floor. I thrash wildly, sobbing. Claws tear into my back and sharp teeth dig into my shoulder, lifting me up off the floor. The pain is unbelievable. Then with incredible force, the dog flicks its head and releases me, sending me flying through the air towards its hideous friends. I skid along the floor, not even reaching a stop before another dog sinks its teeth into me and throws me to the third. They're playing with me. Treating me like a toy. Every time I'm thrown to the floor I attempt to get up again and get away from these demonic creatures, but every time I feel razor sharp fangs burying themselves into my flesh and the agony of being thrown across the room to the next dog and the whole torture beginning all over again. Even so, I still try desperately to escape until the pain becomes so unbearable I can't even move. I just have to lay there for what feels like years while the dogs tear into me and fling me around, wishing it would just end. Wishing for death.

In the end, it's a relief when my vision finally starts to go black and my entire body begins to go numb. It occurs to me that I'm finally getting out of Furnace. Even though it's happening in the worst possible way, I still sort of got what I wanted in the end. Obviously I still wish I'd got out instead. No matter what I may have thought to myself, I never really wanted to die down here and especially not like this. If it wasn't for the Skulls being after my blood I probably could have kept my head down and led as decent a life in Furnace as anyone down here could hope for. But things didn't happen that way, and I did what I had to. At least I tried. I didn't just curl up and accept death like I'm doing now. And even better, I almost made it! In fact I _did _make it, even if it was only for a couple of seconds! I escaped Furnace! It's just a shame that I had to die afterwards. But I still did it.

I watch calmly as a dog leans down and fixes its jaws around my throat. There's nothing I can do now anyway except shut my eyes and allow it to finish what it started. I'm just glad it's over and glad that I managed to escape and see daylight one last time. Even though this is the worst possible thing that could've happened, that everything that could've gone wrong along the way did, it's finally over. No more hiding from the gangs or worrying about what will happen if I get caught trying to escape.

It's finally over. I've escaped Furnace.

* * *

_Well, that's the end of this story! Hope you enjoyed it. Sorry the final chapter was so short, there wasn't really much left to write. Anyway, leave a review or whatever if you want and thanks for reading!_


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